Toronto developers the Ahmed Group of Companies recently announced plans to build more than 460 residential rental units in Mississauga.
The company says it will soon bring forward a proposal to develop a project located at 1000 and 1024 Dundas Street East.
If the city gives the project the green light, the developer will build two towers of 16 and 20 storeys over a four-storey podium. Once completed, the transit-oriented, mixed-use development will feature one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, ample green space, improvements to the public realm, community space, and an urban farm.
The development has been designed by WZMH Architects, and has been created to be a walkable community with a pedestrian-focused experience. It will also offer ground-level commercial space for retail and office use to support current and future businesses in the area.
As of 2022, the Ahmed Group is involved in the development of over 1,500,000 square feet of new purpose-built rental (residential apartments) construction across Ontario.
“Our city is richly diverse, inclusive, vibrant and growing. It is clear people want to live, work and play in Mississauga,” said Moe Ahmed, President and CEO of Ahmed Group. “My father came to this country as an immigrant to chase his dreams and raise his family here. I was born in Toronto, raised in Mississauga and have never left. My wife and I are proud to live in Mississauga with our families. We want more families, seniors, students and young professionals to have the opportunity to reside here.”
Vacancy rates have trended downwards across Canada, falling from 2020 to 2021, and continuing into 2022. A recent market report from the Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) and Urbanation shows that Ontario is facing a shortage of 200,000 rental units over the next decade. Vacancy rates in Peel in particular are at an all-time low.
“We’re in the midst of a housing supply crisis here in Peel, and frankly all over the province. We see this proposed development of our properties at 1000 and 1024 Dundas as a logical step in doing our part to help tackle the lack of housing availability,” said Ahmed.
The Ahmed Group’s proposed development comes after a series of important steps taken by the City of Mississauga, the Region of Peel, and the province to guide future urban growth and intensification of the region.
In June 2018, Mississauga City Council endorsed the Dundas Connects Master Plan to establish a vision for the Dundas Street Corridor, supporting major improvements to transportation, sustainable transit-supportive development, intensification, and the public realm along the 19.5-kilometre corridor of Dundas Street.
In March 2022 the federal, provincial and municipal governments committed $675 million to support three transit initiatives in Mississauga, including the Dundas bus rapid transit system (Dundas BRT) that will run through Mississauga connecting Toronto to Oakville.
In addition to the BRT, Mississauga will build the Hurontario Light Rail Transit (LRT) which will connect with the Dundas BRT, creating north-south and east-west transit connectivity across the rapidly growing region. Shortly after, the Region of Peel voted to approve its Official Plan to 2051, expanding the Region’s urban boundary—the area within which landowners and homebuilders are allowed to submit applications for development—in June.
The Ahmed Group also has additional projects at various planning and proposal stages in the Queen and Main, Dundas and Confederation, and Mississauga Road and QEW areas of the City.
The developments will be geared towards the purpose-built rental market further addressing Mississauga’s growing housing needs with the objective to support transit equity through bicycle facilities, walking paths and mass transit connections.
