Graywood Properties is partnering with Hankyu Hanshin Properties Corp. on development of an Oakville condo aimed at end-users like downsizers amid a cratering of investor interest in condos in the Greater Toronto Area.

Toronto-based Graywood and Japanese firm Hankyu Hanshin are engaged in a joint venture for Claystone Condos, a seven-storey, 105-unit project in Oakville's Bronte neighbourhood.

The two developers unveiled their partnership in January 2025, with Claystone as Hankyu Hanshin’s first investment in the Canadian market. Ground on the project was broken this month.

“Oakville is an end-user market. And so buyers are very discerning and they’re looking for value, but they’re also looking for something they can live in,” Neil Pattison, a senior vice-president of development at Graywood, said in an interview with RENX Homes.

Since investors have retreated from buying units in multi-residential buildings, the void has been increasingly filled by homeowners, an audience Graywood and Hankyu Hanshin are tailoring Claystone toward with its suites, amenities, walkability and ground-level commercial element.

Graywood is a full-service real estate company that develops, builds and manages properties. Historically, lowrise homes and condos were its main developments, such as the Residences of The Ritz Carlton in Toronto which is the company’s “crown jewel,” Pattison said.

Hankyu Hanshin is the development arm of a Japanese conglomerate which owns businesses in real estate, transportation and entertainment. The Hanshin Tigers baseball team is also part of its portfolio.

A ‘livable, walkable’ project

Claystone was initially designed to have 141 units, but as the Toronto area’s condo market hit a wall, the development was tweaked to have fewer units that have more space, Pattison said.

Almost all of the 105 suites in Claystone are to range from one-bedroom plus den to three-bedroom plus den offerings. Over 60 per cent of the units are planned to be two-bedroom paired with a den. There is a plan for a single four-bedroom suite.

A “discerning demographic” is the target audience of the project, Pattison said, with units ranging from 600 to 1,830 square feet. The average size is to be approximately 1,000 square feet. 

Claystone is “priced to the market,” Pattison said, with units at approximately $1,200 per square foot. At that range, the average 1,000-square-foot unit would be worth $1.2 million.

Most of the buyers for Claystone have been from Oakville and the neighbouring Burlington and Hamilton, Pattison said, who are familiar with the area and want to downsize. The project has also drawn the attention of young families and adults who want to make Claystone their first step on the property ladder, he noted.

Claystone is located in “a very livable, walkable community,” Pattison said, with Bronte Harbour only a five-minute walk away; the stores, groceries, restaurants and services of Bronte within close reach; and the Bronte and Oakville GO stations also nearby.

A collection of “modest” amenities are planned for Claystone: a fitness studio, outdoor and indoor lounge areas, an outdoor dog run space and a co-working room.

Approximately 6,500 square feet of retail space is to be on the ground floor. A restaurant is likely to take up the space, Pattison said.

Occupancy of Claystone is anticipated to start December 2028, with construction to be finished in January 2029.

Preparing for a condo recovery

Claystone is being developed in a “challenging market” for condos, so the partners opted to make the project a spec build, Pattison said. So far, 12 per cent of the units have been sold. Though the presales to date are far below the typical bank threshold of 70 per cent, Graywood and Hankyu Hanshin are confident the condo market will recover and the public will take a strong interest in Claystone as it nears completion.

“We’re not blind to the fact that the market is facing uncertainty at the moment,” Pattison said. “But we want to be in a position that people can make a decision when the market comes back to that.”

Claystone is to be the first collaboration between Graywood and Hankyu Hanshin. The partners have a second joint venture for 241 Church St. in downtown Toronto. The 53-storey, 591-unit build-to-rent project near Toronto Metropolitan University has 25 storeys finished, with move-ins expected to start in February 2028.

With Graywood pivoting to taking on more rental projects as of late, its other projects fit that mould, such as the 617-unit 7Central in Vaughan. Additionally, Graywood has three rental developments in its pipeline located in downtown Toronto or Vaughan.