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It’s becoming very difficult to ignore some of the bad headlines associated with Toronto lately, a by-product of the exploding growth documented in articles marking 20 years of UrbanToronto. The constant delays of the much-maligned Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown, crushing traffic and never-ending road closures, financial shortfalls, and the worsening housing affordability crisis are all contributing to some negative noise.
In the face of such headlines, it’s refreshing to hear from strong voices speaking up and celebrating one of North America’s largest cities with the same enthusiasm UrbanToronto holds for Toronto. One of the strong voices and prominent civic boosters is Charles Jaque, President and CEO of Residential Development Services (RDS) Brokerage.
“It’s a blessing to live in Toronto and Torontonians are fortunate for it as the city is just getting started,” says Jaque. “Toronto is a very young city that is growing quickly and we are seeing more and more international level services, experiences, and offerings that will make the city an even more exciting place to see. A look at future development plans shows there are mega-projects that will up the ante in Toronto. All of these projects mean more places to live, work, and play for existing or new residents to the city. More urban density means more people, and people are a good thing. It means more ideas, relationships, and opportunities.”
Opportunity is something Jaque has taken advantage of since entering business in 2005 and then founding RDS in 2021. RDS is a consulting company and real estate brokerage specializing in sales for pre-construction mixed-use developments, primarily condo projects in the GTA, with a portfolio representing more than $7 billion in sales and more than 13,000 home transactions, launching four to eight new projects per year. RDS works with real estate developers as consumer market experts to guide the design and development towards the best sales results, and then runs the retail operations in the presentation galleries, working as the developers’ sales-arm or in-house sales team. As a result of his work in real estate, Jaque has witnessed incredible change in his hometown.
“The biggest change I’ve observed in Toronto over the last 20 years has been people’s draw into the downtown core,” he says. “There has been a major culture shift where downtown Toronto has become more and more popular, the place to go for jobs, specialized services, to meet people, and for entertainment. People have gotten more used to living in condos and high-rises, with now 80 per cent of new home sales being high-rise and 20 per cent low rise – with most of those high-rises concentrated downtown.”
In Jaque’s opinion, Toronto is making a growing contribution to the world of architecture and construction. “I was saddened to hear of the recent passing of my friend George Baird, Dean of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, who cultivated a pedigree of local Toronto architectural talent, many of whom have become leaders in the industry,” notes Jaque. “As Toronto matures as a city, its construction process and architectural style is evolving and we are seeing more examples of contemporary architectural theory and practice, which we are developing locally and exporting globally. Toronto is at the forefront of what the next wave of housing will be on a global scale.”
Jaque points out Toronto is a ‘city of neighbourhoods’, and he feels the city’s ethnic diversity is one of its greatest strengths and a reason why it remains attractive for international investment.
“People come from around the world to start new lives in Toronto, and they don’t stand out because it’s the most multicultural city in the world,” observes Jaque. “I love being able to step into a restaurant or small business and feel like I just stepped into another country, with people from that country running the place. You can travel around the world in Toronto without leaving the city. You can easily stumble into high quality Colombian cafes, Ethiopian restaurants, or Persian or Korean markets and grocery stores. I love to explore the city and find hole-in-the-wall hidden gems, especially family-run, multi-generational small businesses that have survived and thrived downtown. The city is full of them.”
With a successful career in sales, Jaque does feel the city can do more to sell itself internationally. It’s got big stories to tell and should be big in telling them.
“Toronto is still considered somewhat of an underdog in North America and internationally, despite being the fastest growing city on the continent and second largest financial centre, behind only New York,” says Jaque. “But things are changing. I remember visiting Miami in the early 2000s and people not knowing what or where Toronto was. There were jokes about igloos and they’d be shocked when I told them the weather was similar to New York. Now when I travel abroad, everyone has heard of Toronto and I often hear about how it’s on people’s list to visit. Toronto also has an amazing tech industry with more start-ups than Silicon Valley and in North America, second only to North Carolina. However, the government should leverage Toronto’s strengths to attract more large employers and innovators to the market.”
Yes, the traffic can be bad, and the construction frustrating, but every now and then it’s a worthwhile and healthy exercise to take a step back and appreciate what we’ve got and where we are living in comparison to other places in the world.
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UrbanToronto has a research service, UrbanToronto Pro, that provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area—from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
