William (Bill) Aykler arrived in Canada in the early 1950s from his native Hungary, joining Ridout Real Estate Inc., then the largest real estate brokerage in Toronto, in 1953. In 1957, he completed the Appraisal, Community Planning and Management program through Chicago University, and in 1958, became a Broker and Partner at Gillen & Associates. For over 25 years Bill brokered, assembled and sold real estate in Toronto and in 1984 founded Aykler Real Estate Inc. with his sons.
In addition to running a successful real estate brokerage, Bill branched into land assembly and development consultation for public and private clients. Beginning in the 1970’s he focused on numerous non-profit housing projects in conjunction with the Ontario and Federal governments. This turned into a distinct specialization they're still known for today.
Aykler then founded Clarendon Construction and Aykler & Co. Realty Ltd. to focus on its own development and construction. Starting with the first-ever townhouse development and moving into large hotels, Aykler's development expertise grew through the 1970’s and 80’s. The company completed a wide variety of projects including townhomes at Avenue Road and St. Clair, Sherbourne Street, condos, rental housing projects and single-family residences.
Over the years, many people turned to Bill for his real estate expertise, including the government: in the 1980s, he was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Honorable Alvin Curling, Minister of Housing.
The Aykler business now span three generations. Bill's sons Les and Bob joined the family business in 1978 and 1989 as Realtors, and today focus on property management and development. Les's son Justin joined in 2004, with Bob's son Sebastian following suit in 2005. Bill’s niece Brooke continued the family tradition joining in 2016 for new development sales and project management of newly formed Grid Developments – a partnership with civic-minded developer and architect, George Popper.
The firm has recently focused on private sector development with small and mid-sized infill projects throughout the city. They've been involved in the construction and development of over 5,000 residential units in over forty projects throughout Toronto. They continue to manage over 1,500 residential units, many of them for non-profits, and operate a boutique real estate brokerage in the downtown core.