Industry Profile: Tariq Adi

We headed outside of Toronto’s downtown core to meet with a young developer who is set to launch a substantial project in Burlington. We met with Tariq Adi of Adi Developments to learn all about his history in the industry, his vision for Mod'rn Condominiums, as well as the future of Adi Developments.NewInHomes (NIH): How did you get your start in development?Tariq Adi (TA): Like a lot of younger developers, we started investing in homes. Hamilton was where I got my start. We purchased some duplexes and triplexes in the area, refurbished them, and had them running as profitable entities. From there, we made the decision to look into starting development, and being that I’m from Burlington, it made sense to start there. We partnered with another developer and developed a successful townhome project just to the north of where Mod’rn will be located. Now that that’s complete, we are taking the next step.NIH: What is your vision for Adi Developments?TA: We are trying to do things a little different from what others are doing. You can tell that by the name of our project, Mod’rn. We put the apostrophe there just to show that we are trying to separate ourselves from our competition. We are going to bring a real high quality product that people in Burlington haven’t seen before. I grew up in the area, I know what the expectations are and what people expect from new developments. We are going to surpass them.

NIH: What are some of your favourite aspects of Mod’rn Condominiums?

TA: With all due respect to our peers in the area, we are bringing a much different, higher-end project to Burlington. We have put a real focus on high-end features and finishes, ones that you see in downtown Toronto projects. We are making sure that despite the fact that you are purchasing a unit in Burlington, you’re still getting a top quality project. We are hoping to bring a bit of the King West vibe to Burlington.

Another key aspect to Mod’rn Condos is our floorplans. We spend a significant amount of time looking at our floorplans and making sure that we have the most fluid, livable floorplans that we can have. Some of the floorplans that we’ve seen are really poorly designed: kitchens in the wrong place, no windows in the bedrooms. They may be 800 square feet, but they live worse than our 450-square-foot units. The time that we have put into these floorpans, and the feedback that we have gotten, we know that our purchasers are really going to see great value without having to sacrifice space.NIH: What is some of the feedback that you are receiving from the locals?TA: It’s been great thus far. Like any project we had a small amount of detractors, your typical NIMBY reaction; however even those people admitted that the designs and project are great. Even they love the look of the project. I’ll tell you a story: our guys have been working at the site, getting things ready for our opening and such, and people are coming up to them, asking how to buy. One woman came up to them and was so excited about the project that she brought her children with her, who also want to buy. The initial feedback from the locals has been outstanding. We are excited to launch.NIH: What’s next for Adi Developments?

TA: We are looking at some sites, obviously ones that we don’t have the liberty to talk about right now. We have a few projects that we will be launching in Burlington, but eventually we will venture into Toronto. For Toronto, we have to make sure that it’s the right site. I have agents calling me, letting me know about sites for sale, but I need to make sure that our first Toronto project is going to be substantial. I want every project that we launch to be significant, in the right place, and with the right designs. We are not going to just run into the first project opportunity that we see, we are going to do this right. My personal goal is to eventually develop a 100-storey condominium. Be it five to 10 years from now, that’s something I’m confident you’ll see from us.

The Toronto Star's NewInHomes.com would like to thank Tariq for his time, and we look forward to seeing Adi Developments thrive in the coming years.