When Mark Mandelbaum and Barry Fenton formed Lanterra Developments in 1999, they had a vision to create condominium buildings that would raise the bar for architecture, design and amenities and help to position Toronto as a global city of the future.
Nearly two decades later, Mandelbaum and Fenton—both law school graduates with extensive real estate experience before partnering in Lanterra—have achieved that vision with a series of landmark developments that have redefined the cityscape. These include WaterPark City in the Fort York district, Murano and Burano on Bay Street, the Residences of Maple Leaf Square adjacent to the Air Canada Centre, and Ice Condominiums at York Centre, to name a few.
Lanterra chairman Mandelbaum says a decade ago, many condo developments were relatively mundane “and managed to get the job done” but today’s buyers have more exacting standards. Lanterra has never settled for the mundane, believing that excellence in location, architecture, and design mattered and was important to elevate Toronto’s status internationally.
“I have noticed in the last five to 10 years, the sophistication and knowledge of buyers has improved enormously,” says Mandelbaum. He and Fenton believed when they started the company that a demographic shift was coming and more people would become interested in living downtown—and they were correct.
Each Lanterra project is unique and the Lanterra team scours the globe for inspiration. Murano and Burano take cues from the famous Venetian islands of the same names in Italy, famous for colourful houses and glass making; the Britt Residences that are transforming the Sutton Place Hotel into condo suites echo the flair of Britain and London; for Ice Condominiums, the team travelled to Stockholm and Copenhagen and the mixed-use project emulates the cool, sleek Scandinavian design they saw there.
Lanterra chooses transit-oriented locations but the company appreciates the “different flavours” various neighbourhoods have to offer. While many of Lanterra’s projects are downtown, Treviso at Dufferin and Lawrence has been a big success, with the third and final phase selling now.
“It’s a wonderful project,” says Mandelbaum. “We took a corner close to the subway that no one could imagine to be an anchor and totally changed the look of the community.”
