Wesley Tower Video Interview – TalkCondo Discuss Wesley Tower with Dominic Tompa

• Amit Bhandari, Platinum Agent for Wesley Tower Condos in Mississauga City Centre get an opportunity to discuss the project with Dominic Tompa, the Broker of Record for Citylife Realty, a subsidiary of Daniels
• Dominic discusses how Daniels have perfected the art of Master Planned Communities and highlighting that Daniels began developing in the Mississauga City Centre 15 years ago and it has grown to become a vibrant and thriving community
• Dominic discusses how far the Mississauga City Centre has grown since Daniels began in the area in 2002, and where he sees the future of his area
• Wesley is now the 8th condominium by Daniels in the Mississauga City Centre
• How Daniels have realized an emerging trend of families moving to condos in the City Centre, with Daniels offering more 3 bedroom options and a special Kids Zone to accommodate this growing trend
• How you can get VIP Platinum Access to Wesley Tower with TalkCondo

Get VIP Platinum Access to Wesley Tower

Get VIP Platinum Access to Wesley Tower

Full Transcript:

Amit Bhandari: Hi there. This is Amit Bhandari of talkcondo.com, and today we’re with Dominic Tompa who is the broker of record of Citylife Realty, the in-house sales team for Daniels Corporation, as well as a subsidiary of Daniels Corporation. Dominic, thank you so much for [00:00:30] joining us today.

Dominic Tompa: It’s a real pleasure to have you here.

Amit Bhandari: Before we begin, I wanted to congratulate you because the last couple of times we sat down together, first time was for the Wyatt, and then it was for the Lighthouse Condos East Tower, at the waterfront. Both were tremendous, tremendous success stories. Both sold very, very well in a very, very short space of time, so once again, congratulations.

Dominic Tompa: Thank you very much. In fact, the response to those was just overwhelming. We sold out on [00:01:00] our initial launch and it just really speaks to how well received these master-planned communities that the Daniels Corporation has really built its reputation on are received.

Amit Bhandari: Absolutely. It’s funny you mention master plan, because that’s one of the first topics I wanted to speak to you about. Because Daniels, it seems, are … They’re the pioneers of master-planned communities in the GTA. It’s almost like you’ve perfected the art of how to create the perfect multi-faceted, multi- [00:01:30] phase master-planned community. Not just from a residential perspective, but also a retail perspective and public space, something that’s easily accessible and enjoyable. Just to name off a few of the ones that are well known and that you’ve worked with. NY Towers in North York. Then you have Daniels Erin Mills, a very, very famous one. Then perhaps recently, one of the most prominent ones is Regent Park, very [00:02:00] large one as well. Then we’re sitting in one right now as well, Mississauga City Centre, and again, another one that’s been around for a long time.

I was wondering if we could speak about Mississauga City Centre. When it began, how it began and where you see it today.
Dominic Tompa: Well certainly. Daniels’ roots here in Mississauga run very deep, and it really goes back to even pre-Daniels days, when Mr. Daniels was one of the [00:02:30] instigators and founders of the Erin Mills community, which at that time, was the largest master-planned community in North America.

After Mr. Daniels left Cadillac Fairview, he started the Daniels Corporation 34 years ago. Since then, what Daniels has really done better than anyone in this industry is build these master-planned communities. We have the talent, we have the creativity, to really come in and it’s more than just residential, we’re talking about mixed use, mixed [00:03:00] income communities, we create great commercial spaces, we create great amenities.

Amit Bhandari: Public spaces as well.

Dominic Tompa: And public spaces. We’ve really mastered the art of this. Here at City Centre, this goes back to 2002 with our first buildings, two buildings called Number One City Centre. Since then, this 23-acre community we’re going to be going on our eighth building called Wesley Tower. It’s a beautiful community, right in the heart of [00:03:30] the city of Mississauga, with a 3-acre community park, nice tree-lined streets. Walking around the community, you really understand why it’s such a great place to live.

You’ve got everything from the types of amenities around us and we’ve got shopping across the street with Square One, we’ve got a lot of retail on all the streets surrounding us. You’ve got Celebration Square that’s just outside of City Hall where Mississauga gathers for all of the special [00:04:00] events throughout the year. We’ve got the Living Arts Centre, which is the premier arts and culture facility in Mississauga. One of the things I would like to mention with the Living Arts Centre is that anyone buying at Wesley Tower will get an interconnectivity package with the Living Arts Centre where you’ll get special access to events and screenings and previews, just to get idea of what a vibrant arts and culture community there is here in Mississauga.

It’s a really incredible community and great place to call home.

Amit Bhandari: [00:04:30] Amazing. Mississauga City Centre, obviously, it’s close to Square One as you mentioned. I’d like to touch on the neighborhood as a whole because there’s been a whole flurry of activity in and around Square One. You’ve seen the growth, you’ve seen the growth around it. Like you mentioned, a couple of the amenities, key amenities, I should say. Not just for Square One but for the city as a whole, Celebration Square. [00:05:00] This area was not like that before. Mississauga’s Celebration Square is just, I believe, opened in 2011. But this area’s been around before that, predates that. Then Square One itself was not what it was, it wasn’t like this before. Then those other key areas as well, key parts of downtown Mississauga.

Where do you see it going, down into the future? Given what you’ve seen in the past where it was and where we are today, and because of the flurry [00:05:30] of activity, where do you see it down the line?

Dominic Tompa: Well, Amit, you’ve brought up some really good points. This is an area that’s really seen an evolution over the last 10 to 15 years. When we first started this master-planned community, there was very little residential immediately around us-

Amit Bhandari: No college either.

Dominic Tompa: And no college, exactly. Today when you look at it you see, you mentioned the Sheridan College that just opened a couple of years ago. You also see that, from a standpoint of transportation with the GO Transit right at Square One, you’ve got [00:06:00] the Mississauga MiWay that’s right there, so it’s become a community that’s very accessible. If you’re driving, you’re very close to the 403 and the 401, and close to the QEW, so there’s been this whole evolution of this community which is continuing, because there’s still so much more that’s going to be coming to this community. It’s an area that today has become a true downtown. As Mississauga has evolved, and Mississauga has grown, this community has really taken that leadership role of becoming [00:06:30] the downtown of the city.

Amit Bhandari: Wonderful. It’s funny you should mention driving on the highway, because every time I’m on the 403 eastbound, I always happen to glance over because … Mississauga City Centre really has just become so a part of the skyline, Mississauga’s skyline.

Dominic Tompa: For me, it’s always the gargoyles of One [crosstalk 00:06:47] Tower that it so unique for me for this community. You’re absolutely right, we really have changed the skyline of this community.

Amit Bhandari: Even the architecture, like Chicago building is fantastic, and Limelight, of course. [00:07:00] I’d like to come back now, drill it back down into the Wesley. Which, of course, is the newest addition to this master-planned community. The eighth building, I believe.
What makes Wesley unique? I believe the amenities package itself alone makes it incredibly unique. If you could speak to us about the amenities package.

Dominic Tompa: Yeah, let’s talk about the amenities. The amenities are very closely tied into suite types as well.

Amit Bhandari: Got it.

Dominic Tompa: So let’s talk about them. Because what we try to do is [00:07:30] really look at who’s buying in our communities, who’s moving into the Mississauga City Centre and then really tailor that building to those demographics.

A few things that you can expect in all of our buildings. You’re going to get 24-hour concierge and there’s going to be a great party room. Some of the unique amenities that we’ve introduced to Wesley Tower, one is we’re going to put in a half court gym. The genesis of this was we had put in a full court gym in Limelight here just off Living Arts, and we’ve just seen [00:08:00] just how used it gets. I refer to it as a half court gym because I don’t want to talk about it as a basketball court because although it’s one of the things you’ll see people, an activity in it, you’ll see so much more. Everything from dance to children’s parties, it’s a facility that gets used every single day, which is what we try to do with our amenities is to create amenities that really, truly extends the living space of our residents.

Another thing we’re doing with Wesley Tower that’s very unique [00:08:30] is we’re putting in a kids’ zone. That’s in recognition of just how many young families are buying into our communities and calling it home for a longterm plan. The kids’ zone will be a place where parents can bring their children, where there’s active play areas, there’s craft areas, there’s areas where they can sit and read with their children. There’s also an outdoor play area for them as well, so it’s great, it brings families together to socialize and you don’t have to take your children outside of your building in order to spend [00:09:00] time with them. We’re really excited about introducing that and we’ll talk about how that ties into the type of suites we’re creating as well.

Another trend we’ve found is more people moving into our buildings that are working from home. So we’re creating a co-working area where, if you work from home, you’ve got a place to come down to where you can work in a more formal setting. There’s more lounge-type, informal areas, there’s even meeting rooms so that if you are bringing clients in, you’re meeting with the client, you can actually book a meeting room and [00:09:30] truly be working from home. Because we’re seeing more and more people doing that, we’re trying to create amenities that work well with that.

The other thing we’ll be putting into this is our urban agriculture program, which we started not quite 10 years ago, but very close to that. This was a recognition that so many people who came and talked to us about moving into a condominium has some concerns about not being able to continue their passion for gardening. [00:10:00] So they come into our condominiums and they’re able to continue that. We actually bring in in the first year of the life of the condominium we’ll bring in a professional company that specializes in urban agriculture and they work with the residents in the condominium in order for them to create a great program. They’re able to use the garden plots that are part of this program and together they’re able to develop this whole gardening community that, in most condominiums, that’s just not something that [crosstalk 00:10:28].

Amit Bhandari: No, you don’t really hear of it.

Dominic Tompa: These are the types [00:10:30] of amenities … We’re always looking at how our buildings are being used and the type of feedback we’re getting from our buyers as they come in and talk to us about the amenities. We hope that, with these additions, that people will really find that these are going to be an amazing thing for their lifestyle in this condominium.

Then tying that into the types of suites that will be available. We’ll have everything from one bedrooms to three bedrooms. We recognize that we have a real mix of everything from first time buyers [00:11:00] to the move up buyer looking for a suite that’s a little bit larger in two bedrooms or two plus den, but we also have that young family that actually needs three bedrooms for their children. We’ll have a three bedroom that’s on the southeast corner of the building with beautiful views overlooking the city. Again, it’s something that we’re going and we’re always trying to create both the suite types and the amenities to truly fit in with who’s buying into these buildings.

Amit Bhandari: That’s amazing, it really is. [00:11:30] What about key dates for this?

Dominic Tompa: We’re going on sale very soon. We’re going on sale in the next couple weeks. We’re going to be starting construction of Wesley Tower this fall, in early October or November, with move-ins happening in summer of 2020. I know you’re very familiar with us because for years have been a part of family of top-producing sales representatives, but Daniels [00:12:00] has been very committed all the time to really giving buyers certainty of dates.

Amit Bhandari: Of course.

Dominic Tompa: When we tell them they’re moving in the summer of 2020, we really try to commit to making that happen. That helps as a buyer, all that planning that’s involved in making a move like this. You can have some comfort in knowing that we’re going to meet these targets.

Amit Bhandari: You’ve been pretty much bang on with everything that you’ve been involved with. If we [00:12:30] have any clients that are interested in purchasing at the Wesley, what would you recommend they do?

Dominic Tompa: Well, this is the time for them to get a hold of you. You’ve been a part of our very small and exclusive group of top-producing agents for a long time now, and it’s a relationship that Daniels Corporation truly appreciates because-

Amit Bhandari: And so do we.

Dominic Tompa: Working with agents like yourselves who are so knowledgeable in the industry, we know that when your clients [00:13:00] come to us they’re coming informed, understanding the market, that you’ve educated them on everything involved in buying a condominium, you’ve educated them on the community. That’s something that’s really special for your clients because they’re really getting a top level of service.

Amit Bhandari: Thank you.

Dominic Tompa: Then that really transfers to us because it makes our job that much easier as well.

Amit Bhandari: Absolutely.

Dominic Tompa: This is the time for them to get a hold of you because there’s going to be a huge demand on this community. It’s been a couple years now since we sold a building [00:13:30] here so there’s quite bit of pent up demand for this community. We’re expecting a really large response here.

Amit Bhandari: Wonderful. Thank you so much, Dominic. Really, really appreciate it.

Dominic Tompa: It’s been a real pleasure. Thank you very much.

Amit Bhandari: Take care.