Two Greater Toronto Area home builders are prioritizing medium-density townhome developments in established neighbourhoods, leveraging market and community demands for "gentle" density.

In interviews with RENX Homes, executives from Toronto-based Dunpar Homes and Brightstone Developments discussed how they are balancing dual goals in the Places to Grow Act of 2005, which emphasizes dense development and market demand for housing while preserving a neighbourhood’s identity.

“You have to think what makes best sense for the developer and the community,” Harpreet Bassi, the vice-president of finance at Dunpar, said.

A developer focused on family-oriented townhomes and luxury mid-rise rental projects, Dunpar’s products are a “good bridge” that “are still getting more units into the market,” while integrating into local amenities, he explained. Bassi contrasted Dunpar’s products to more costly single-detached homes and dense, tall condo developments in Toronto that have been largely halted due to lack of investor interest.

“There is a limitation to high-rise, and where homebuyers are interested and where the growth can be is in townhomes, missing middle,” Yoav Bohbot, Brightstone's vice-president and director of acquisitions, said.

Brightstone’s history of developing missing-middle homes in established neighbourhoods sets it up “extremely well” for the market’s needs, he added.

Brightstone's communities

The Places to Grow Act is aimed at combating urban sprawl and better utilizing existing infrastructure. While vertically inclined highrises are the first kind of project that comes to mind to meet those needs, Bohbot said developments like townhomes and multiplexes also satisfy the demand.

He sees more developers leaning toward such projects because the viability of high-rise development has declined and many homebuyers want to live in mature communities.

Bohbot highlighted the 101-unit OG Urban Towns in Mississauga and the 48-unit Kerr Village Towns in Oakville.

He described OG Urban Towns as suited for young couples and professionals who are looking to buy their first home and build equity. The units will range from 522 to over 1,500 square feet, with bachelor and one- to three-bedroom offerings. Prices will start from the $500,000s.

Kerr Village Towns on the other hand is intended for mature buyers from the neighbourhood. The project is planned to include a retail space facing the Oakville lakefront. The three- and four bedroom townhomes will be 1,800 to 2,200 square feet, with prices expected to start from $1.6 million.

Brightstone has not started construction or sales for the projects.

Dunpar's Lambton Towns

An example of a Dunpar project that fits its vision for gentle densification is The Lambton Towns, a 96-unit townhome project planned for western Toronto. Bassi said a high-rise could not be built on the land, so a development that maintains the character of the existing community was “the best yield” for Dunpar.

“It’s not just a monolith or a giant tower. It is something that is thought of and in consultation with the neighbours.”

The back-to-back units are planned to have three bedrooms and to average 1,700 square feet. The community will be near schools and parks, Bassi said, emphasizing its family-friendly features. Pricing is being determined for the project. 

Brightstone is breaking ground for Lambton Towns this week, with move-ins to start in the spring of 2027.

More gentle densification projects anticipated

Bassi expects the market will gravitate toward gentle density developments as a middle ground between “a very expensive single-detached home further away from amenities from the city,” or “a shoebox in the sky.”

Families are becoming more open to housing that is not just a single-detached offering, and the housing market is in the position where it is “either build something or build nothing.”

Thus, Bohbot expects gentle densification products will become more popular as homebuyers become more comfortable with townhomes.

“Single-detached was always the end-all, be-all,” he said, “but not anymore.”

To support the more rapid build-out of similar projects, Bassi and Bohbot both recommend a streamlined approvals process - an oft-heard complaint from home builders and others in the development industry.

Dunpar’s upcoming projects are:

• A 164-unit Mississauga townhome community planned for 2620 Chalkwell Close. The company hopes to break ground in spring of 2026.
• A 400-unit rental project it plans to incorporate into the redevelopment of Sherwood Village in Mississauga. Dunpar hopes to start construction by the end of the summer of 2026.

Brightstone’s pipeline consists of the Mackenzie Park and Schoolhaus Towns projects in Oshawa and The Elms of Thornhill Woods in Vaughan. The three fit into the gentle densification townhome theme the developer is prioritizing, Bohbot said, and will soon be joined by other projects.