Some 30,000 urban families who visit the Children’s Discovery Centre launching as a pilot project in mid-May near Liberty Village will have the opportunity to participate in the study.

Tracy Hanes – Toronto Star

As a housing market researcher as well as a mother who has raised her young daughter in a Toronto condo, Jeahny Shim is well aware of the growing needs of families living in downtown condos.

That’s why her company, Housing Lab Toronto, an independent housing research and consulting company, along with Heads Up, a consumer research firm, is launching a study of urban families in Toronto exploring how and where they want to live.

The study will be conducted in conjunction with the launch of the Children’s Discovery Centre, an educational and fun place for young children and their parents to learn, play and explore in nine themed areas. It will be a digital-free and touch screen-free zone guided by a team of early childhood development professionals.

The Children’s Discovery Centre will launch as a pilot project “pop-up” in mid-May in a 20,000-square-foot building at Garrison Point near Liberty Village. About 30,000 urban families are expected to visit the centre over five months, and those families will be asked to participate in the study.

Comment: Finally we starting to focus on families and talk about what they might want in condos. Forcing builders to create 3-bedroom condos that people don’t buy is not the right way. Talking to the target audience, that is the right way to do this.

Shim says the downtown lacks quality experiences and fun things for young children to do, particularly those younger than 6. Most children’s programming and activities at places such as the Royal Ontario Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario and Ontario Science Centre are geared to children older than 6.

Comment: I hear you. With an almost-8-year old and a 5-1/2-year-old who is very mature, we have trouble finding things they can both do. And our little guy gets bent when he finds out something is barred to him because of his age.

From 2006 to 2011, there was a 55% increase in the number of newborn to 4-year-olds living south of Queen Street, and in the next five to 10 years, more than 10,000 couples without kids currently living in condos in the same neighbourhood are likely to have more than 6,000 babies (according to 2011 data from Statistics Canada and 2006 census data). This will effectively triple the number of young families living downtown, says Shim, creating greater demand for more family-focused and family-friendly products, services, amenities and lifestyle experiences.

Comment: Like I keep saying, we need to start thinking about putting schools, libraries and rec centres and the like in the bottom of condos. These kids are going to need facilities from daycare to schools, pools and education. We are at the perfect time to really make a sea change in where we are going with condo construction and downtown life.

The urban family study will include a mixture of surveys and qualitative research (such as focus groups), says Shim, asking parents about where they want to live now and where they aspire to live, as well as their needs. The study’s findings will be shared with the city planning department to help it shape planning policies.

“Its the first time anyone has studied urban families in a rigorous way, not in an anecdotal way,” says Shim.

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Contact Laurin Jeffrey for more information – 416-388-1960

Laurin Jeffrey is a Toronto real estate agent with Century 21 Regal Realty.
He did not write these articles, he just reproduces them here for people who
are interested in Toronto real estate. He does not work for any builders.
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