Oxford breaks ground on Scarborough project backed by $650M in federal loans

Key Takeaways:

• Oxford Properties has broken ground on Alta, a three-tower, 1,285-unit project at Scarborough Town Centre—marking the largest single-phase purpose-built rental development currently under construction in the city.
• The project is backed by a $650 million construction loan from CMHC’s Apartment Construction Loan Program, the largest such loan approved in Toronto, enabling a significant boost in both market-rate and affordable rental housing.
• Located steps from key transit hubs, the development will feature a mix of unit types, public amenities, a new park, and a geothermal energy system aimed at cutting emissions by 74%, all part of a long-term plan to add over 10,000 homes to the area.

The Whole Story:

Construction has begun on Scarborough’s first major purpose-built rental development in decades, a $650-million project backed by federal funding and aimed at easing Toronto’s housing crisis.

Oxford Properties Group, the real estate arm of pension fund OMERS, officially broke ground Wednesday on a three-tower development adjacent to Scarborough Town Centre. The project, known as Alta, will deliver 1,285 rental units—268 of which will be designated as affordable housing—making it the largest single-phase rental construction currently underway in the city.

“This generational project signifies a model we hope to replicate across Canada,” said Daniel Fournier, executive chair of Oxford Properties. “It shows what’s possible when we sustainably intensify transit-connected land to create mixed-use communities of the future.”

The federal government is supporting the project through a $650-million low-interest loan issued via the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Apartment Construction Loan Program. It marks the largest such loan CMHC has approved in Toronto to date.

“This project will create more much-needed rental homes for the people living and working in Scarborough,” said federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson. “It’s an example of what’s possible when government and the private sector work together.”

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also welcomed the development, noting the city’s involvement through its Rental Housing Supply Program. “We are stronger together,” she said, adding that the project will help meet the needs of a growing city.

Located on a 3.4-acre parcel on the west side of Scarborough Town Centre, the Alta complex will consist of three towers atop two seven-storey podiums with a mix of residential and retail space. Units will range from studio apartments to three-bedroom townhomes, with the development designed to accommodate a variety of income levels, age groups and family sizes.

The transit-oriented site is within walking distance of the Scarborough Centre TTC station, GO Transit, and the under-construction Scarborough Subway Extension.

Oxford says Alta will include wellness and community-focused amenities such as outdoor lounges, co-working spaces, a children’s playroom, fitness facilities and a 22,000-square-foot public park. The project will also incorporate a geothermal heating and cooling system designed to cut energy use by more than half and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 74%.

“This development not only puts our members’ dollars to work right here in Ontario,” said OMERS CEO Blake Hutcheson, “but it also helps improve housing choice in a community that so many of them proudly call home.”

Alta is the first project under Oxford’s new master plan for Scarborough Town Centre, which envisions more than 10,000 new residential units built over the coming decades across 89 acres. Construction on the Alta development is scheduled for completion in summer 2029.

Oxford says the project is part of nearly $2 billion in new activity it has announced across Canada in recent weeks, including acquisitions in Western Canada and redevelopment work at Canada Square in Toronto’s midtown.