Addressing the housing shortage with Sam Mizrahi of Mizrahi Developments

Today, more Canadians than ever cannot afford to own a home. According to research from RBC, more than one million new households will not be able to purchase a home by 2030. Recently, we sat down with Sam Mizrahi, the leader behind the eponymous real estate development company Mizrahi Developments. Best known for spearheading high-end projects in Toronto and Ottawa, Mizrahi Developments now plans to use its years of expertise and breadth of skills to meet another demand in Canada: affordable housing. 

Here, we chat with Mizrahi about his firm’s unique approach to housing development, what he envisions for the future of Ontario’s urban sprawl, and a peek at what it’s like to be at the helm of one of Canada’s leading real estate development companies. 

Q: Mizrahi Developments is best known for its high-end developments. What prompted the shift in focus to more affordable residential housing?

A: A major pillar of our development philosophy has been to fill a niche or gap in the market that others have not, looking at how we can serve the needs of the communities where we build.  

When we first started Mizrahi Developments, nobody in Canada had delivered on luxury housing that competed at an international level, so we seized on that niche, redeveloping key areas like the gateway into Yorkville.  

Right now, the most critical issue facing Canadians is a lack of more accessible housing. As we look to the future, we aim to create a niche of more affordable communities in Ontario. In Canada, almost 1.5 million homes need to be built to meet the demand. Recently, the Ontario government introduced new measures to cut the red tape and streamline approvals for these new housing units, reduce development costs, and expedite the housing construction process. 

The hope is that, as these reforms continue to come into effect and governments maintain their focus on speeding up construction, we can build on this new niche and help bring more housing that the average Canadian family can afford. Parallel to our past developments, we want to use our experience and expertise to fill a clear need – and today, that means working to build more affordable housing in Ontario and across Canada. 

Q: What advantages or skills is Mizrahi Developments bringing forth to address this gap?

A: With our extensive experience as a general contractor, we know the costs associated with housing development. It’s not just the price of land that drives up housing prices. The cost of materials also makes a big difference. For example, we can identify where it makes sense to use timber-based materials rather than concrete to lower construction costs. We can replace natural stone, which is expensive, with newer porcelain and vinyl materials that still give you that elevated look and feel, but at a fraction of the cost. 

The other strength I think that Mizrahi Developments has is our ability to approach problems with an open mind — ready to find unique solutions that haven’t been harnessed yet. As we look at the scale of the affordable housing shortage, we know that conventional housing solutions like high rises aren’t sufficient. We want to use our experience to explore the potential of micro-lots and other innovative  building sizes and footprints to help Canadian families struggling to enter the current housing market.

Q:  Tell us about micro-lots. How do these types of buildings fit into Mizrahi Developments’ plans for building affordable housing?

A: Micro-lots make home ownership more affordable. The decreased footprint lowers the cost of construction, land acquisition, servicing, and all the auxiliary costs of purchasing a home. Micro-lots allow homeowners to buy homes at a fraction of the cost of traditional lots. This type of development has seen great success in Europe and Asia and is an emerging concept in North America. We look forward to introducing this type of home ownership in Ontario and throughout Canada.

Q: As Toronto’s population grows, what major shifts do you envision for the city’s urban sprawl in the future? 

A: Historically, Toronto’s urban sprawl typically went north and south. In the future, you’ll see it move east and west, as well as northeast, northwest, southwest, southeast. We’re already starting to see urban sprawl expand to areas in Hamilton, Barrie, and Niagara-on-the-Lake. I’ll use New York as an analogy: Similar to how the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island are some of the five boroughs of New York City, you’re going to see Ontario’s urban sprawl expand into places like Barrie and Hamilton. The pandemic lockdowns accelerated the shift towards the urban sprawl more east and west, where there’s far more greenery and housing is a bit more affordable. 

Q: How does Mizrahi Developments plan to work with local communities to reimagine Ontario’s urban landscape?

A: I have always believed that it’s our responsibility to create buildings that meaningfully contribute to community life — making a positive impact on everybody who lives and works there. As part of this process, we first inquire about the needs of local communities, stakeholders, and residents, then reverse engineer the development to match the community’s aspirations. We’ve done that in Yorkville, Bloor and Forest Hill, and we’ve seen incredible results. Now, we’re going to do this in the suburban areas of Southern Ontario to rebuild communities that are more sustainable, more affordable and more accessible for the average Canadian family, on a much larger scale. 

We also plan to consider the auxiliary facilities you would need in an ideal community—hospitals, local businesses, and schools — along with all the necessities that make life fun and give neighbourhoods their local flavour, including entertainment, restaurants, and cafes. If families choose to move out of the city to buy a home, we want to support them with all the auxiliary services they would have in a city like Toronto.

Q: You’ve been at the helm of Mizrahi Developments for over 25 years. What’s been your biggest challenge in this role so far?

A: The biggest challenge for any developer is navigating the complex and dynamic factors that impact an industry like ours. These factors include population shifts, changes to regulations, evolving market conditions, and access to municipal infrastructure. Nothing is static. The challenge is navigating all those ever-changing factors and still coming out with successful outcomes within the timeline. That means delivering high-quality buildings that fit the needs of our customers, and the communities they live in.

Q: It sounds like working with a stellar team can help you weather some of those challenges more easily. What does the culture at Mizrahi Developments look like?

A: Our team has been built on passion and experience. Every project we take on brings together the world’s top architects, engineers, consultants and partners. Most people on our team have tenures lasting a decade or more. Clearly, this speaks to their skillset and passion – but it also speaks to their work ethic—something that can’t be taught. This energy has been a key quality in our team members who have built Mizrahi Developments and has been critical to the success of our company. 

Q: What’s been the most rewarding part of your career so far?

A: It’s seeing the end result of our projects and watching homeowners move in. That never gets old for me. In all my years of doing this, I’ve never seen a homeowner who wasn’t excited to move in. At the end of the day, the work we do is for the homeowners and their families. For over 25 years, we’ve built our reputation on exceeding our customers’ expectations, and our portfolio of developments reflects that.  We continually strive to give them the highest quality homes, every time. And for most people, a home is not only a place to live — it’s their biggest asset. So we take great pride and ownership in building communities and developments that families can call home — and, importantly — that hold their value for generations to come.