Conservatory Group

The Conservatory Group is a Toronto homebuilder and condominium developer founded by Ted Libfeld, who is described as one of the outstanding contributors to Toronto’s new home industry.

In 2000 he received the First Presidential Award of Merit from his peers and was inducted into the Greater Toronto Home Builders’ Association Hall of Fame. The company is now led by his four sons.

Beyond building, he is credited with innovative financial programmes that made home ownership affordable to thousands of buyers.

That is a different kind of contribution from design or volume, and it is the reason for the industry recognition. Making the financing work is often the constraint on whether a family can buy at all.

A wider range than most builders attempt:

• Townhomes through to multi-million dollar estates on the low-rise side
• Condominium towers, which the company has been building for decades and which form part of the Toronto skyline

Their condominiums feature large lobbies, generous suite interiors and amenity programmes including fitness centres, pools and theatres. They build both in emerging neighbourhoods and on urban infill sites.

A 10,000 square foot automated design studio where buyers choose finishes, built to give an interactive selection experience rather than a binder of samples.

The company also introduced the Dream Home Gift Registry, the first of its kind from a builder, which lets buyers invite friends and family to contribute gift certificates toward upgrades. It is a small thing, but it is a genuine industry first and it tells you the company thinks about the purchase experience, not only the construction.

More than fifty years, with the founder’s industry recognition dating to 2000 and the second generation now running the business.

Generational continuity is worth weighing on a pre-construction purchase. A family business handing to the next generation has a strong incentive to protect the name, because the name is the asset.

Because the range runs from townhome to estate to tower, check which part of the business your project sits in and ask for completed examples of that specific product rather than the company’s overall record.

On a condominium, ask about the amenity programme in detail. Pools and theatres are expensive to operate and they land in the maintenance fee, so ask what the fee estimate assumes and what comparable completed buildings are actually charging now.

Then the usual: deposit schedule, what is standard versus a Decor Centre upgrade, parking and locker, and the occupancy and registration timeline.