Developers have been scrambling to draw attention to the dire state of Ontario's new condo market, in which many projects have been postponed, fully cancelled or have been put into receivership as sales have waned and construction activity plummets as a result.

The latest casualty to dwindling buyer interest appears to be a 37-storey tower from high-profile Canadian firm Broccolini, which was slated to rise from the corner of Queen and River Streets in downtown Toronto.

The Riv, as it was dubbed, would have brought some 400 units to the Regent Park neighbourhood by 2028 — some of them affordable rentals to replace what will be lost to construction — along with ground-floor retail space.

But, it looks like the developer has recently axed the project and taken down its dedicated website.

Ontario real estate downturn continues as developers drop new projectshttps://t.co/fDsOr53o93

— blogTO (@blogTO) September 17, 2024

Local broker Roy Bhandari shared the news to X in late November, writing that "incentives earlier this year dropped the prices around 5 per cent, but still not enough to get the required pre-sales."

Screenshots from Bhandari's platform Talkcondo indeed showed various units listed for sale in the building at reduced prices, from $503,490 for a studio to over $1.1 million for a three-bedroom.

As one person aptly noted in the comments, Toronto's persistently unrealistic housing prices, even for the smallest of condos, are likely what's keeping so many people — investors included — out of the market at current.

"MAYBE it's the $500k studio unit that's beyond overpriced that's the problem," they wrote.

"No one but an Airbnb marketer wants that sh*t. Please, please build for end users in mind. What? End users won't wait 3-4 years? Don't they wait for other products?"

The Riv Condos Cancelled. Another 388 units in Toronto taken off the market.

Incentives earlier this year dropped the prices around 5% but still not enough to get the required pre-sales. pic.twitter.com/kusf8RojaP

— Roy Bhandari (@roybhandari) November 23, 2024

But, it's not as simple as developers simply lowering prices, with building costs being what they are and having risen as much as they have.

Municipal development charges alone in Toronto have skyrocketed by an unbelievable 933 per cent cent in less than 15 years, which has become a huge impediment to new construction, as noted by organizations like the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).

"The GTA is grappling with a major 'cost to build' challenge. Rising construction costs have increased by 75 per cent for high-rise and by nearly 100 per cent for single-family over the last five years," Justin Sherwood, a spokesperson for the organization, told blogTO on Monday.

"Coupled with escalating government fees, taxes and charges, this has made it increasingly difficult for developers to deliver new homes at a price point the market can absorb. Municipal fees on high rise apartments in the GTA have risen, on average, $32,000 in the last two years alone — and for single family the increase is $42,000 on average."

He adds that with so few buyers in action as GTA home sales fall 75 per cent below the 10-year average, developers are "struggling to meet their pre-sale thresholds necessary to get construction financing," — which leads to the sudden end of projects like the Riv.

Still our gov is not willing to lower fees and taxes on new constructions 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

— DeConditioned (@DConditioned) July 26, 2024

Advocates say this "cost imbalance" of building is now posing a great risk to future housing supply at a time when all levels of government are urging for more development to address ever-growing population and demand.

But, with a record glut of resale homes sitting on the market — which sellers likewise can't drastically reduce prices on without taking a huge financial hit — it's affordability, not supply alone, that is at the centre of our housing woes. And for that, steps like those taken by the City of Vaughan, which recently slashed development charges, are a good start.

Broccolini did not reply to blogTO's requests for comment about the Riv.