What to know
- Reina Condos at 689 The Queensway is being billed as Canada’s first all-female-led development.
- All of the project’s decision-makers are women, from development to design, according to Urban Capital’s Taya Cook.
- The project also aims to encourage more women to enter traditionally male-dominated industries, including construction, engineering and the trades.
- Women made up just eight per cent of Canada’s trades-related professionals in 2024, according to the Government of Canada.
- The 197-unit condo was designed for everyone, with larger units, outdoor spaces, 5,100 square feet of interior amenities, natural light and additional storage.
A new Etobicoke condo is trying to make a statement about more than the people who live inside it, challenging who gets to design and build Toronto.
Named after the Spanish word for “queen,” Reina Condos, located at 689 The Queensway in Etobicoke, is Canada’s first all-female development.
The nine-storey building aims to bring a “breath of fresh air” to the community by combining a contemporary minimalist style with a softer, more feminine feel, including light colouring, thoroughly designed landscape, and picketed balconies.
The idea, according to Urban Capital Director of Development Taya Cook, grew partly out of frustration with how heavily male-dominated Toronto’s development industry remained.
An all-women team
Taya Cook, Director of Development at Urban Capital, told Now Toronto she first had the idea for the project after reading a Toronto Life article about the “Kings of Condo,” which featured the city’s top developers and real-estate professionals, all of whom were men.
“As a woman in the industry, [I was] impacted by that visual and felt that it was time to make a statement and highlight some of the fantastic women who work in development and the related fields. We are certainly heavily outnumbered but very much here,” she said in an email to Now Toronto.
Impacted by the underrepresentation of women in the field, Cook proposed that her next Urban Capital project would be led by female professionals.
According to Cook, all of the decision makers involved in Reina are women, from the project’s design to development.
Inspiring women in trades
Despite taking a step towards representation, the project is also an inspiration to women and girls who might be interested in real-estate, developing, or trades.
“Above and beyond the efforts on the design and development of the building, we used this project as a positive platform to openly encourage girls and women to consider entering the fields of development, engineering, the trades and construction,” she said.
According to the Government of Canada, only eight per cent of Canada’s trades-related professionals were women in 2024. Beyond the numbers, trades are notoriously known for being male-dominated, with stigmas about these careers being strong reasons for many to refrain from considering trades as a career path, while many transwomen have reported feeling isolated.
“While we recognize all the hard work men do and have contributed over the years, especially on our own construction site, it would be great to see more women be exposed to the opportunities within these typically male-dominated industries, so that if it appeals to them they know they are welcomed as well,” Cook said.
“The goal is not 100 per cent men vs. 100 per cent women, it’s to find more of a balance in our industry,” she added, saying he hoped Reina could help to achieve this goal.
Project is designed for everyone
Despite efforts to enforce heavy female representation during the development of the project, Reina was not designed solely for female residents.
As reflected in its marketing tag line — “Designed by women, developed by women, built for everyone” — the project was focused on building condos that would be functional for all, accepting residents from all walks of life, including women, men, couples, and families.
“[This project] was designed for everyone who likes smart, well thought out design,” Cook said.
According to Cook, Reina’s designers went through years of consultation to understand what people loved and hated about condos and how they could develop a project that could offer an optimal experience for all. During this period, developers heard from thousands of contributors, from teens to seniors.
“We even reached out to children as young as five [years old] to hear about what is important to them and what they love in a space,” she said.
“We did design competitions for university students, had the girl guides share ideas on a space for teens and listened to seniors on how their needs change throughout a lifespan.”
As a result, the 197-unit building offers not only a well-thought design, but several larger units, expansive outdoor spaces, 5,100 square feet of interior amenities, lots of natural light, extra storage, and much more.
Reina units are now open for move-in, with more details available on its website.
