In Conversation With... Frank Spaziani, Vice-President, Kylemore

When it comes to housing markets in and around the GTA, few are as prized as Markham. Close enough to downtown Toronto, but also sufficiently removed from the hustle and bustle of the city, and adjacent to expansive greenspace and prestigious golf communities.

One of the most active builders in Markham is Kylemore, with a number of signature developments, existing and in the making, that deliver on discerning buyers’ demands.

We spoke with Vice-President Frank Spaziani, to learn more about the company’s focus on better living in a luxury environment, and why it believes “wellness” is the new luxury.

Let’s start with an easy one. Here we are, unbelievably, already halfway through 2021. What kind of year has this been so far for Kylemore?

To date, sales have been strong and demand for homes high. We opened our newest master-planned community, Angus Glen South Village, in October 2020 and continue to release new phases, which are selling well.

We are starting to see the impact of the pandemic on the industry supply side, where there are supply issues and cost increases on labour and materials, such as on lumber and appliances and other construction items. These are unanticipated costs for homes that were sold a few years ago and are being built now.

Wellness is an important theme with Kylemore’s communities, such as the new collection at Angus Glen South Village in Unionville. It has become part of your mission statement now. What is the origin of this focus on wellness… is it something related to changing needs brought on by the pandemic, or does it go beyond that?

Live. Wellness. It’s the formalization and convergence of so much of what we’ve been implementing in our past communities over the years. Today, amid the pandemic, we’re proud to see that planning and design components we included early on in our neighbourhoods, rank highly considering our current situation. By that I mean, specifically, the walkability and being able to stroll to community shops and services, the placement and use of parks, ensuring the best infrastructure is in place, such as fibre and high-speed Internet… these are all adding value to residents. It’s a pleasure to see neighbourhood residents, as well as those who live outside our communities, regularly walking these streets.

Is “wellness” here to stay? Is Kylemore applying this philosophy at other developments?

Wellness is here to stay. We’ve applied it in the past and we’re embracing and expanding upon its delivery, as we continue to bring new communities to fruition.

Recently at Angus Glen South Village, we’ve enhanced our floorplan designs in many ways to build in the flexibility families require. Another example is the inclusion of a three-year community membership package to Angus Glen Golf Club for all our homebuyers.

Our future Langstaff Gateway community will benefit from the commitment of all levels of government to move the Yonge Street subway forward. This will make access to public transportation a reality for the future residents. Walkability is a key part of the master plan, where a significant park/woodlot at its eastern edge will connect to a promenade that extends through the development. Also, in this community we’ve consciously oriented the buildings to maximize light into the units.

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

We’ve found that our Angus Glen South Village designs are hitting the mark with respect to addressing the needs of our buyers with, for example ample-sized laundry rooms, private home offices, coach houses and in-law suites, to name a few features.

Our sales program has embraced online appointments, and most of our purchase agreements are completed digitally. We are also creating an online portal for the Decor Studio, and I imagine these options will continue to be offered alongside in-person appointments for the foreseeable future.

Markham has been a central location for Kylemore’s developments in recent years. Where else might the company be looking?

In our 24-year history, we’ve developed new neighbourhoods across the GTA. Today, we’re 100-per-cent focused on Markham, which is where we have land holdings, and a strong client base. We’re proud of our past communities and encourage new buyers to visit Angus Glen Community to see the results of our planning and architectural design. Kylemore is based in Markham and will be for many years ahead.

Most of your communities seem to be luxury lowrise. Any thought into expanding in the condo category, or more multi-family offerings?

The exception to lowrise is the completion of The 6th Angus Glen, comprised of two boutique midrise condominium buildings overlooking the golf course. We also built and own the Shoppes of Angus Glen retail centre.

There are midrise condominium buildings in future phases of Angus Glen South Village, as well as mixed-use retail and office space in this community.

One of our future developments, now in early planning stages, is a high-density transit-based community called Langstaff Gateway. Kylemore will build the eastern portion of this massive development, which stretches from Bayview to Yonge Street, just south of Hwy. 407 in Markham. This will be an entirely highrise development.

We are also planning Angus Glen North in Markham, where the master plan includes a mixed-use community of lowrise homes, mid- and high-density condominiums, retail and golf.

Community involvement and giving back have long been cornerstones at Kylemore. How might your initiatives change, for example, due to new needs emerging through the pandemic?

Last year, when the pandemic started, we made a conscious decision to do more. We spoke with community groups and organizations with whom we have ongoing relationships, to learn their specific needs and provide support toward these urgent requirements. To date, donations have been made to 360 Kids, Blue Door, Yee Hong, Yellow Brick House, Evergreen Hospice and Markham Stouffville Hospital Foundation, to name a few. We also arranged for 1,200 boxed lunches prepared by Angus Glen Golf Club and delivered them to hospital staff to thank them for their hard work and dedication.

What’s next for Kylemore?

I mentioned Angus Glen South Village and Langstaff Gateway. A third major development now in draft planning stage is the North Village of Angus Glen. Our vision is the creation of a new residential community surrounding, with the golf clubhouse as its hub.

kylemorecommunities.com

AND ON A PERSONAL NOTE...

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

What changed for us is the temporary return of our adult children to the family home. We found ourselves planning regular family dinners, which was a nice and unexpected outcome. I have been doing more cooking. We treasured the few times we were able to ski this past winter. And I’ve had a longstanding desire to improve my guitar playing, so I started regular online lessons.

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

When we learned things were opening again slowly, the first thing we did was reserve a spot on a favourite patio for dinner with family. And we’re looking forward to traveling when that becomes possible.