On the map: Project hopes to make Glen Park “the new College Street”?

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The Wilde is a new 360-unit, 30-storey condo development that come 2029 will sit at the intersection of Marlee and Glencairn avenues in North York’s Glen Park neighbourhood. For Ralph Del Duca,?COO and president of Chestnut Hill Developments, the project marks something of a homecoming.?
“The first piece of real estate I ever sold when I got my business licence 40 years ago is right across from where The Wilde will be,” says Del Duca.?
The fact that Chestnut Hill has been in the neighbourhood for almost half a century speaks to the company’s forecasting abilities. Once a sleepy Italian neighbourhood of modest homes and low-rise buildings, today the area is exploding with development: more than 9,000 units have been approved for development in Glen Park.?
In fact, when he first conceived of The Wilde, Del Duca envisioned a more modest 10-storey building. The Dylan, another Chestnut Hill project, sits across the street and is 11 storeys. But after seeing the demand for homes in the area, Del Duca sought approval to increase the project’s density, and eventually got a green light for the 30-storey building that is now on the market.?

Chestnut Hill will eventually have six buildings in the area: The Dylan, which is already built and occupied, The Wilde just across the street, and four other buildings that will all be going to market within the next four years. Del Duca envisions the neighbourhood as the new College Street but in midtown.?
“We’ve built at Queen and Bathurst, we’ve built across from Bellwoods Park,” says Del Duca. “We see a change in what people want. They are frustrated with the congestion. They don’t want to live in a concrete jungle.”?
The intensification makes sense: with proximity to Glencairn Station — one of the city’s most underused subway stations — Yorkdale shopping mall just 10 minutes to the north, and Yonge and Bloor a 20-minute drive away, it’s an area where intensification was less a question of “if” than “when.”?
In keeping with the Italian roots of the neighbourhood, Kirkor Architects have created a piazza in front of the building with outdoor seating areas, as well as a European-style promenade. There will also be a restaurant built into the ground level of the building.?
“We want our residents to be able to enjoy their lives away from their units,” says Del Duca.?

Outdoorsy residents will also have access to an outdoor pool.??
“Our research has found that indoor pools are underused,” says Del Duca. “People want outdoor amenities — not everyone has a cottage.”?
The Wilde was designed with the post-COVID, work-from-home resident in mind. Adjacent to the lobby is a large co-working space that, in renderings, has the look of a café. There will also be a soundproofed podcasting studio. The project has 13,200 square feet of amenities in total, including a meditation room, pet spa, dog run, outdoor kids play area, and a private dining room for special events.?
The building and unit interiors reflect a shift in design trends. “For the longest time, it’s just been white, white, white — a minimalist, almost cold aesthetic,” says Del Duca. Instead, The Wilde embraces a “Boutique New York City feel,” with touches of exposed brick, rich palettes replete with burgundies and turquoises, and dark-toned wood accents.??
The Wilde is currently on the market, and In2ition Realty founder and CEO Debbie Cosic, who is heading up sales for the building, says she’s seeing a shift when it comes to who’s buying.??
“I think the pendulum is swinging,” says Cosic. “We’re going to see about 30 per cent investor, 60 per cent end user. People really want to live here — it really is close to everything.”??

Making up part of that end user market are the offspring of longtime residents of the area, now in their twenties and thirties, who don’t want to pay downtown prices.?
“This is the most affordable development in the 416 area,” says Cosic of the development’s price per square foot, which floats between $1,150 and $1,175 depending on the suite. Units are a mix of studios and one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units, with prices starting at the mid-$500s.??
“We have a long history of working in strategically placed neighbourhoods that are on the way up, that will change and improve and appreciate over the years,” says Del Duca. “We did it at One King, we did it in Pickering, and we’re doing it again at Glencairn.”?
Units at The Wilde are on sale now, with pricing starting in the mid-$500s. For more information, visit chestnuthilldevelopments.com.?
Three Things?
A longtime neighbourhood favourite for espresso sipped at the counter and fresh Italian treats like ricotta-filled cannoli and tiramisu, Amico Bakery now also has a hot lunch menu of homemade pasta, pizza and panini. 2889 Dufferin St.?
This nine-kilometre former rail path is now a cyclist’s or weekend ambler’s dream: The Beltline is a leafy green walkway and bike path that stretches from Caledonia Road to Yonge and Eglinton.??
When it opened in 1964, Yorkdale was the largest enclosed shopping centre in the world, and today it still bills itself as “Canada’s premier centre.” Come for the sales and people watching, stay for the New York Fries. 3401 Dufferin St.?
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