FAQ

It refers to a building or structure that contains multiple (often 4+) dwelling units, typically apartments or condominiums. In PolyPrime context, we focus on building multiplex of 5, 6 or 7 units on one traditionally detached house lot in GTA area.

For the city Toronto, the housing stock (around 1,100K in total) consists of mostly low-rise detached houses (360K) and high-rise condo units (600K). The detached houses are mostly built before year 2000. Since 2010, GTA developers build primarily (around 90%) condo units due to the obvious financial advantage. Since there are very few in between, the situation is captured by a buzzword "missing middle"---Even though on the surface, the situation was caused by individual developers; the root cause lies in the zoning code and the underlying political reasons, which also led to urban sprawling and NIMBY movement. The wikipedia page summarizes it well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_middle_housing For Toronto, Multiplex /"medium density" should be a big part of the solution of the housing crisis identified by CMHC. (1) City Toronto is running out of "greenfield" space to build even condo buildings. We should find ways to increase the density for the "yellow belt", which consists of approximately 60% of the residential area of the whole city. (2) Multiplex provides better balance as both affordable and liveable house type.

As of January 1, 2004, only city Toronto has fully legalized fourplex, and also the only city that is actively planning for sixplex. Mississauga and Brampton are also quite active, even though only legalized ARU (Triplex and Garden Suite). Please check this blog for latest development: https://www.polyprime.ca/post/gta-multiplex-legalization-process At Poly Prime , we have extensive experience navigating these regulations and can help guide our partners in choosing the best location and ensuring all necessary permits and approvals are obtained. Our focus is on creating sustainable, efficient, and desirable living spaces that provide meaningful benefits to our clients and their communities.

Multiplex has the lowest per sqft cost among all building types (detached, townhouse and condo). Comparing to a detached house, the value comes from "gentle densification" by adding 4+ extra unit on the same lot (valued around $1.5Million). The land acquisition cost per unit is $300K vs $1.5M. Comparing to condo (or townhouse), the permit + construction process is 3-4 times faster, which leads to the saving of 30% in financial cost. Another major advantage is the tax/fee saving provided by federal, provincial and municipal government. It loosely translates into about $1M per building. Contact us to learn more about the details.

PolyPrime is the Multiplex champion in the Greater Toronto Area. We develop and operate multiplex buildings with 5/6/7 units. Our initial goal is to, within five years, develop approximately 100 Multiplex residential buildings. We also offer partnership model, that help individual investors (landlords or capital investor) access this very special market segment. As Multiplex Champion in GTA, we believe Multiplex is the right housing type for all Torontonian, and commit ourselves for realizing the benefits for all stakeholders. Our three founding members bring together a total of 40 years of experience in real estate development, management, and most importantly financing.

For an individual real estate investor (or house owner), building a new house is not easy; building multiplex is in a different complexity level. Often the first two challenges are: Where is the money from? Once I have the money, how do I make sure money is well spent? DIY (Do it yourself, sometimes, "resident developer") is possible, but the risk is too high; the outcome is often way below expectation. Typical "surprises" often include: Over-run of construction time and cost, Failure to secure loans with reasonable interest rate, due to the perception of the credit-worthiness of individual investors. Less is more; PolyPrime Partnership pays for itself.