In Conversation With... Nicholas Fidei, President of Treasure Hill

When striving to build high quality homes for increasingly discerning homebuyers, experience counts. So does a clear vision. Driven by sourcing in-demand locations and developing communities that exude excellence in every way, Treasure Hill has a track record that speaks for itself. That, and a commitment to give back to the greater community which underlines everything the company does.

President Nicholas Fidei discusses how Treasure Hill maintains such high standards – and why he’s hoping to hit the road this summer.

It’s hard to believe we’re a month into 2022. What kind of a year was 2021 for Treasure Hill?

The Altus Group statistics for 2021 showed that the total GTA new home sales were the second highest on record since 2002. Though it was both fortunate and unexpected, 2021 turned out to be one of the best in Treasure Hill history. At one point last year, we made the decision to hold off on new sales openings for a while so we could focus on building the homes we had already sold in 2020 and 2021. With the delays and challenges our industry was experiencing throughout the pandemic right up to present day due to labour and materials shortages, we felt that fulfilling our commitments to existing purchasers took priority over new sales. We wanted to focus on delivering our quality homes in a timely manner.

And how’s 2022 looking, in a general sense?

Overall, the outlook for this year is promising. To begin with, many Canadians want to enter the market or find new homes and condos to meet their changing lifestyle needs. When you look at immigration, Canada will be welcoming thousands of permanent residents when the borders reopen. One of the major goals of many immigrants is to own a home, so there is added pressure on our industry to increase supply to meet the increasing demand. I hope the rest of 2022 will bring us all less stress and a positive outlook on life. Even if interest rates go up, they will still be considered relatively low. Most new Canadians have homeownership as one of their main goals in coming here, and they will do what it takes to get into the market.

At Treasure Hill, we’re in the process of ramping up sales this year, as we expect to introduce six new communities. We’re looking at different ways to make the whole process more efficient so we can shorten our timeline from the point of sale to completion date without sacrificing quality. We’re also adjusting our house plans to accommodate the needs of people who are working from home, and we’re streamlining our interior features and finishes selection process. We’re working with a prestigious interior design firm to help us put together pre-selected packages. In addition to making purchasers’ decor selections easier, they will have the opportunity to work with an outstanding designer to place their personal stamp on their home. Each decor package tells a cohesive story, and buyers can select the bundle that best fits their lifestyles and preferences.

Treasure Hill is blessed with some prized locations outside of the city, and you’re building housing types that many people are looking for these days. This isn’t just a fortunate circumstance… when did you first foresee this demand and begin to act?

When it comes to buying land and establishing communities in the outskirts of Toronto, we didn’t just jump on the recent pandemic-related “escape” bandwagon; we’ve been focusing on these areas since 2015 and 2016, when we developed in Bowmanville, Oshawa and Georgina. We knew that people would feel it was worth the drive to afford a better home for their families. COVID has accelerated the demand in these areas, with people working from home. Infrastructure expansions across southern Ontario have also fueled this demand, as it’s becoming easier to travel to and from these areas.

This year, we have communities opening across the GTA and beyond. We have a 700-home collection coming to Oshawa, a return to north Oakville with townhomes, 300 lots in Newcastle, beautiful three-car garage 60-ft. homes backing onto a ravine in King City, two communities in Richmond Hill, and an exciting community in Cambridge. We’re also excited to be bringing our fine quality homes to new communities in the United States. Working in partnership with Greenpark, we’re now building in five communities in Florida.

You mention returning to north Oakville – another signature location. What’s the most exciting thing about this community, and when can prospective buyers begin to purchase?

Oakville’s new uptown core is an extremely prestigious area. It’s just minutes to comprehensive amenities, including the new state-of-the-art Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. GO Transit, Oakville Transit and access to major highways are handy, as well as neighbourhood parks, shopping and even the famous Glen Abbey Golf Club. We’ll open this year with a collection of affordable townhomes called The Treasury on Dundas. We recently completed our first collection, The Oakes, in this location, and we’re thrilled to be able to offer home buyers another Treasure Hill quality-built community in Oakville.

What are the hallmarks of Treasure Hill homes? What is it that helps you stand out from other builders in your market?

Every Treasure Hill home stands out among the competition because we offer discerning homebuyers a higher standard. We’re driven by finding and developing excellent locations, providing top quality, meticulous details, superior craftsmanship, unparalleled service and giving back to the greater community. Our standard features, such as 10-ft. ceiling heights and upgraded baseboards, are considered upgrades with other builders. Buyers today are sophisticated and do their research. Our focus on what buyers want has earned us a strong brand standing.

A great example of a standard we offer that makes us stand out in the industry is our Genius Package. This technology package, designed with partners such as Amazon, allows homeowners to control many features through their smart phones, such as being notified of a home delivery and being able to open the garage door so the parcel can be placed in it. Genius has been a terrific showstopper for us for a few years now.

Affordability is such a growing concern these days. What are your insights on this issue, generally speaking, and in terms of what Treasure Hill is doing to address such challenges?

To address affordability, we’ve been offering different product types. For example, instead of traditional townhomes, we have built several stacked townhome communities. We’re also developing in outlying municipalities such as Oshawa, Bowmanville and Newcastle, where people can find single-family homes more financially attainable. In addition, we’re looking at higher density where it hasn’t been done before.

What else is Treasure Hill focused on these days that you can share? What’s next…?

An ongoing focus for Treasure Hill is innovation. We continually look at ways to make our homes more affordable and our construction process more efficient. Overall, we’re finding new ways to improve our environment, social and governance (ESG) practices. Sustainability is critical nowadays, for the environment and for homeowners’ health and cost savings. We feel strongly about offering a better product each year to make sure Treasure Hill remains best in class in the market.

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& ON A PERSONAL NOTE

Are you planning on doing the Ride to Conquer Cancer again this year? Why is this cause so important to you? I gather it’s a cause that’s also been adopted by a lot of your employees, trades, suppliers and others who make up your large team of riders for the event…

After virtual rides the last two years, we’re excited at the prospect that we might be doing the Ride to Conquer Cancer in person this year. I formed a team called Cycle Warriors, and this will be my 10th year taking part in the two-day ride. This cause is important to me, because cancer is a disease that has touched nearly every family I know. I feel that funding toward research for a cure is critical. Our group has 35 to 40 members participating each year, and I’m grateful to all of them for adopting this cause along with me. We make it a lot of fun. Giving back to the greater community means a lot to me, and to everyone at Treasure Hill. We enjoy working together for this great cause, because it’s fun, and it’s the right thing to do.