In Conversation With... Anson Kwok, Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Pinnacle International

For those involved in new condo development in Toronto, one of the plumb assignments has to be managing the marketing and sales of one of the highest profile signature projects in the city – Pinnacle One Yonge. Coming to life and rising into the sky at One Yonge Street, home of the landmark Toronto Star building, this master-planned development is future home to three residential towers, beginning with the 95-storey SkyTower, and a host of other noteworthy community amenities.

For Anson Kwok, vice-president of sales and marketing for Pinnacle International, it’s but one of many notable projects he has the pleasure of working on every day.

We spoke to Kwok for his insights into this and other developments, and what the pandemic has meant for family life.

In our Outlook 2021 feature, you mentioned Pinnacle had a strong 2020, and that you were excited about 2021 for similar reasons. Here we are about six months later… How has your outlook for this year changed, if at all?

My outlook has held true from the beginning of the year. Sales have been strong. We have occupied Perla in Mississauga and are on schedule to move-in PJ and Cypress in the next couple of months. We also started construction on two projects in the first quarter of 2021 – our Pinnacle Toronto East development, as well as SkyTower at Pinnacle One Yonge.

You said at the time you were seeing greater demand for family-sized condos, driven by the work-from-home trend, affordability challenges with lowrise homes and other factors. How is all that trending now?

We are definitely seeing more purchases of larger condo units in our projects, empty-nesters looking to downsize and those living in condos upsizing to family-friendly units.

We are also seeing more extended families purchase multiple units in the same building to be in proximity to each other. I believe this trend will continue, as it provides families options to better suit their needs, find multiple homes around one location, and it also offers flexibility if situations change.

One clear trend to emerge during the pandemic is people looking for larger homes and more space, even it if means leaving the city. Pinnacle is a developer of highrise condos in the city. How is this affecting things for Pinnacle?

We have always developed in locations that are attractive and have consistently been developers of larger layouts, especially three-bedroom units. It is no surprise to us that both our preconstruction communities, and even the resale market of our communities, have seen people upsize their units. We have seen pick-up in both Toronto and Mississauga.

What else have you noticed about buyers or the homebuying industry during the pandemic, that may require a slight pivot or other changes… be it buying preferences, locations, suite sizes, sales methods…

The pandemic made everyone take a pause and reflect on where they were living. At the end of the day, location and layouts are still paramount. This will continue to be our focus.

Many of your projects are of the luxury variety and in prized locations in the city. How much of that is a differentiating factor for Pinnacle, and for those looking for that type of housing?

Great locations are definitely a differentiating factor for Pinnacle, and building master-planned communities for people and families to grow over time, should also be noted.

Pinnacle One Yonge is one of Pinnacle’s – and the city’s – signature condo developments. How are things coming along there, and what opportunities remain for prospective buyers?

Since 2012, we’ve been working on Pinnacle One Yonge, and like all master-planned communities, there have been many renditions and there has been tremendous evolution. We could not be more excited about this community. We take great pride in this important site for the city, and we are just getting started in making this a reality. The inaugural tower, Prestige, has risen above the 50th floor now and will take occupancy in May 2022. The excavation of SkyTower has gone well, and we are just about to install the cranes for SkyTower to start pouring concrete.

There are still a variety of opportunities for prospective buyers in Prestige, SkyTower and the future residential phase at Pinnacle One Yonge.

That multi-tower project in a prime location will keep you busy for years. How cool is it to be involved in redeveloping such a notable location in the city? Lots of eyes are on that development…

Pinnacle One Yonge will definitely keep our team busy for a good while, and over the next five-plus years, the construction of our residential and office components will truly change the skyline of Toronto.

What can you tell us about Pinnacle One Yonge that maybe hasn’t been revealed yet, or that hasn’t been duly cited? Something would-be buyers should really take note of…

The unique scale of the development can be a lot to take in. We are building a 50,000-sq.-ft. community centre for the City of Toronto, which includes a six-lane swimming pool and gymnasium. We have three residential towers in the community, with more than 80,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor residential amenities, including our own dog run and walking track. There will be two hotels on the site, more than one million sq. ft. of office space and more than 150,000 sq. ft. of retail space.

Now, you’ve got another new project, Gemma, coming to Mississauga. Can you give us all the details on that – location, dates, signature features and amenities, price points and anything else…?

In the next couple of months, we will be releasing Gemma, the next phase of our Pinnacle Uptown Community of Mississauga, following our successful twin towers of Crystal, Amber and Perla.

What else you can share about Pinnacle or upcoming projects that maybe hasn’t been publicly released yet?

We will be moving in our first building, Cypress at our Pinnacle Etobicoke community, this fall and will be releasing the next phase of the development. There will be a total of nine buildings at Pinnacle Etobicoke.

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AND ON A PERSONAL NOTE...

How have you been coping during the pandemic? Picked up any new hobbies or perfected any certain skills?

When the pandemic hit, we were just moving my eldest son to a new room, and working on the nursery to wait for his younger brother to arrive. Our second son arrived in mid-April 2020, so we have spent the past year transitioning to parents of two. It’s been wonderful having the opportunity to spend time with my family, and not packing our calendars full of activities, and simply enjoying watching the kids grow.

What’s the first thing you’re going to do when things return to “normal”?

I cannot wait to travel and introduce my son to the rest of the family, especially my parents, who have been waiting very patiently in Vancouver. For our eldest son, they met him within days of his birth, and now my youngest is already walking.

What’s on your reading list these days?

Sadly, I haven’t had a reading list for a while. Been spending most evenings binge-watching something funny.

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