If Aras Jand could do it over again, he wouldn’t have chosen the condo as his home.
uncertain
he → do → home
The 39-year-old freight industry broker lives in a 700-square-foot two-bedroom unit on the eighth floor of a newly built tower with his dachshund puppy Max, with whom he was walking outside the building along a grassy path on a recent sunny September day.
asserted
he → live → day
“It’s small,” he said, as Max pulled on his leash to greet a passing little black and white dog.
asserted
Max → ’ → dog
Jand doesn’t like living close to so many people.
asserted
Jand → like → people
They’re often moving in and out.
asserted
They → move → ?
There’s no gym, and he doesn’t have parking.
asserted
he → ’ → parking
He pays almost $2,200 in rent and has been there since 2021.
asserted
He → pay → 2021
“I was thinking, should I move from this area?
asserted
I → think → area
Should I just go somewhere else?” he wondered.
asserted
he → go → ?
Jand may have the space of a downtown Toronto condo, but he lives about 45 minutes from Union Station via the subway (on a good day).
uncertain
he → have → day
His home is in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC), a new campus of condo towers, office space and some retail at the terminus of Line 1.
VMC was billed as a master-planned hub, “an emerging downtown poised to be the financial, innovation and cultural centre of Vaughan,” according to the city, a sharp contrast to its surrounding highways and urban sprawl.
uncertain
VMC → bill → highways
It has a target of 12,000 residential units, 1.5 million square feet of office space and 750,000 square feet of new retail space by 2031.
asserted
It → have → 2031
The Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway stop, which opened in 2017, was seen as the gateway to all of this.
asserted
which → open → this
But the downturn in the condo market, with a dip in prices and demand, arrived just in time to impact the project.
asserted
downturn → arrive → project
Now, 43 per cent of planned units are unsold, according to data from real estate analysis company Zonda — 966 out of 2,233.
uncertain
cent → accord → 2,233
The units are generally small, with many originally targeted to investors during the height of the market when many thought prices would never stop rising.
asserted
prices → target → market
Homes were also constructed before some of the amenities, leaving residents who had been promised a walkable oasis without much to walk to.
asserted
who → construct → much
The City of Vaughan did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
asserted
City → respond → story
Now, as the investor model has collapsed, residents and housing experts are raising questions about whether the project can ever really become a complete community, and, as developers try to reignite the condo market, if there are lessons for other mega projects to avoid a similar fate.
asserted
projects → collapse → fate
It’s been 25 years of “build, build, build,” said Naama Blonder, an architect, urban planner and the co-author of a new book called “Building Charm” about the difficulty of creating new neighbourhoods.
asserted
Blonder → build → neighbourhoods
“Are we building places where people actually want to live?”
asserted
people → build → places
Work in progress
A plan to revitalize the mostly industrial space at the intersection of Highway 7 and Jane Street goes back years.
asserted
plan → revitalize → Highway
PwC Canada and KPMG have offices there.
asserted
Canada → have → offices
New Catholic and public elementary schools are planned in a shared building (the York Region District School Board says construction has not started, but the project is on track to open in 2031).
asserted
project → plan → 2031
And in late 2025, the city broke ground on a $224-million plan to beef up flood protection that includes adding green space to absorb water during storms and improving infrastructure, with funding from the province and federal governments.
asserted
that → break → province
Parts of the area are in the Black Creek floodplain and flooded badly during a storm earlier this month.
asserted
Parts → flood → storm
Annette Tamorada, sitting outside a busy Balzac’s Coffee Roasters with her toddler son, said she likes living at the VMC.
asserted
she → sit → VMC
She’s a tenant of the only exclusively rental building.
asserted
She → ’ → building
She said she’d like to see more greenery and walking trails, “rather than all cars, all buildings.”
asserted
she → say → cars
Tamorada added that rentals in the area are also expensive.
asserted
rentals → add → area
Her two-bedroom costs $2,975 per month, plus $300 a month for parking, and the unit is about 650 square feet.
asserted
unit → cost → parking
“It’s pretty small, that’s a shock for me, the amenities are great, but it’s not for families,” said the 24-year-old.
asserted
old → ’ → families
“I think there would be more families if they had bigger places.”
asserted
they → think → places
Harpreet Brar, sitting in a blue Muskoka chair in the nearly empty Transit Square, a large grassed area across from the subway station with public seating and string lights, also likes the area.
asserted
Brar → sit → area
The condo owner has been living in his unit for about six months and appreciates the transit access, with a new York Region bus terminal.
asserted
owner → live → terminal
“You live away from the city but in the city,” said the 31-year-old network technologist while soft jazz pumped out of speakers nearby.
asserted
jazz → live → speakers
“And with the transit, it’s amazing.”
asserted
it → ’ → transit
But Brar would like to see more grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants within walking distance.
asserted
Brar → like → distance
“You can go a 15-minute drive and there is everything, but for walking there are less amenities than you expect,” he added.
asserted
he → go → drive
Brar, who bought his condo on the resale market, is not the typical owner in the VMC.
asserted
who → buy → VMC
…and 48 more, not listed.
The Aporia
