Medallion Taps Ajax’s Potential With 6-Tower Multifamily Project

Medallion Corp. just topped off the first rental tower at Pat Bayly Square in Ajax, Durham Region’s largest-ever mixed-use development: 1,750 units across six buildings, with retail and office.

Building A at Pat Bayly Square, Vision, is 25 storeys, with 272 rental units, 7K SF of ground-floor retail and 24K SF of office on two floors. Project manager Aaron Bleeman said Medallion does not normally include office in its rental buildings; the decision to have it here reflected the city’s vision for this site as a new gateway for downtown Ajax.

The buildings, at Harwood Avenue and Bayly Street, will surround a new civic square, to be completed by 2018, with an events venue and skating rink that converts to a water feature in warmer months. Occupancy at Building A is slated for this fall.

The second rental tower at Pat Bayly Square, currently coming out of the ground, will be a sister building to the first, with 25 storeys, 308 suites and ground-floor retail.

The three-phase development will be one of the largest the Durham Region has ever seen. Ajax is an economic hub, Bleeman said, but the city also has loads of untapped potential.

“This is going to make Ajax a destination and bring vibrancy to the area," he said. "We see it being a real kick-starter for this region.” 

Elsewhere on the development front, Medallion is nearing completion on a 43-storey rental tower at Sherbourne and Bloor streets, an intensification-infill site where the company owns/manages three existing towers: 545, 555 and 565 Sherbourne.

At Finch and Weston roads, Medallion has built three rental towers in a development, dubbed Casa, that will ultimately include 10 buildings.

And in London, ON, the company is underway on a 300-unit rental building, part of a larger complex with two existing towers and 610 suites.

Pat Bayly Square is an ambitious project for Medallion, Bleeman said. But his family-run company, which traces its roots back more than 50 years, boasts a wealth of experience in multifamily, owning and managing more than 60 buildings across Ontario.

This depth sets Medallion apart at a time when a number of newbies are entering the apartment-development world, including condo builders dipping their toes into purpose-built rental.

“Our experience lends itself to a higher quality of project management, planning and development of buildings,” Bleeman said. “It definitely gives us an advantage.”