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Female Power At Forefront Of Etobicoke Condo Consultation
Taya Cook (left) and Sherry Larjani are heading the all-female design and development team behind Reina Condos.
Credit: Veronica Appia/Toronto Star
Reina Is Run By Canada's First All-Female Team
Toronto - July 15, 2019
By Veronica Appia
Sitting around a table of women at the first board meeting for Reina Condos, Sherry Larjani felt an unparalleled type of energy in the room.
Larjani, the managing partner of Spotlight Development Inc., along with Taya Cook, director of development at Urban Capital Property Group, are the forces behind an all-female design and development team for the project, proposed for the Queensway and Royal York Road in Etobicoke.
“It is something I have never felt in any other board meetings I have attended or I have sat in,” Larjani said. “The energy was extremely positive and it was a very collaborative setting where we were all expressing our ideas and our concerns — whatever we saw as something that, as women, we should pay attention to.”
That feeling was the impetus behind Reina Condos’ collaboration event on July 10, which brought together a predominantly female crowd comprised of residents and industry experts who weighed in on the issues condo residents face and what they would like to see incorporated into the future development.
Reina, which means queen in Spanish, grew out of a response to a magazine article Cook came across in 2018, noting the city’s top builders. Lauded as the "condo kings," the list was comprised solely of men.
Disappointed by the lack of female representation, the Reina team was born with a mission to collaborate with and inspire women.
"We want to show other women who may be considering a future in development that there is a path for them and to show Toronto that, hey, there are a lot of women that are already here. It’s not just the condo kings," Cook said.
Larjani added that the collaboration itself, is "the start to doing things differently."
At the July 10 event, patrons were asked to outline any issues they've experienced or heard of with regards to condo living. They were then divided into teams and asked to come up with ideas as to what they would like to see from Reina. At the end of the evening, each team was asked to design a space of their own.
Some major issued identified by the women were on the topics of layout, storage space, soundproofing, flexible space and natural elements.
When speaking of ways Reina could improve the condo experience, many of the women referred to improvements in safety and security, as well as having an adequate outdoor area for shared use.
Sapna Shah (right) works on some design ideas with her team at Reina's consultation event on July 10.
Credit: Veronica Appia/Toronto Star
Sapna Shah, who attended the event, recently moved to south Etobicoke from New York City. She said she would like to see more spaces both in the community and in local condo buildings where people can spend time with their neighbours.
“I would like to see my neighbourhood feel more like a neighbourhood — feel more like a community,” she said. “I don’t know any of my neighbours except for the people who live right next to me.”
Shah worked with her group on designing a multifaceted outdoor condo space for intergenerational use.
“The big idea we were thinking of is a parkette, so children, families and older residents of the building can come together,” she said. “And people with dogs can have a green space.”
On the other side of the room, Fay Marzuq was designing a similar concept with her team: an “outdoor oasis” on the rooftop that accommodates multiple generations with a pool, an outdoor community space, a track where people can exercise, a barbecue area and green space.
“You could get to know your other tenants or you can be in smaller spaces within that outdoor space with a group of people,” Marzuq said.
Presently, the Reina Condos plan details an eight-storey building of 200 units (which vary in size from one to three bedrooms), underground parking with lots of bicycle storage, 5,000 square feet of indoor amenity use at ground level and 6,000 sq. ft. of exterior courtyard space for the building’s exclusive use.
The Reina team will be incorporating ideas from the collaboration event, as well as those submitted through their online questionnaire, into the design project.
The team plans to go to market with the design by early next year.
For further information about the development, visit https://www.reinacondos.com/.
About Spotlight Development
Spotlight Development is a Toronto-based real estate development company dedicated to creating innovative, inclusive, and community-driven housing solutions. Specializing in traditional market condominiums and affordable housing projects, Spotlight combines visionary design with a commitment to sustainability and community impact.
With over 10.5 million ft² of development space, representing more than $2 billion in managed assets, Spotlight Development is reshaping communities through projects that prioritize social impact and sustainability. Guided by the motto Impact Real Estate Empowering People, Spotlight is setting a new standard in the industry.
Learn more at www.spotlightdevelopment.com or connect with us on LinkedIn.
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Jasmine Ashfield