AlbertC
Superstar
New Affordable Housing in Kensington Market
July 23, 2020
Next week, City Council will have an opportunity to take a big step towards creating brand new affordable housing on City-owned land in Kensington Market.
The need to protect and build affordable housing in Kensington Market, and across the City of Toronto, has been a pressing issue for many years and has been exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic. It is essential that City Council expedite the development of truly affordable rental housing to provide safe, secure and adequate homes for more people living in this neighbourhood.
I am excited to share that I will be introducing a Member’s Motion to the July City Council meeting, formally asking staff to declare the City-owned Green P parking lot at 25 Bellevue Avenue surplus, and to report back before the end 2020 with a plan to lease the land long-term to a non-profit organization to create new affordable rental housing.
This motion would give City staff the greenlight to begin a competitive call for proposals to identify a non-profit developer and operator, whose vision for the site would reflect the values of the neighbourhood.
If passed at Council next week, the City would be taking an exciting and monumental step towards making the vision for increased affordable housing in Kensington Market a reality. It is an important commitment to protecting the character and diversity of the Market by making sure it remains a neighbourhood that is affordable for everyone.
This parking lot in Kensington Market has long been identified as a potential site for critical city-building opportunities. On July 4, 2018, Toronto and East York Community Council directed staff to undertake a visioning process and consider city-building opportunities on the site, in consultation with the Ward Councillor, Kensington Market Land Trust, and the local community. Through this exercise, the Carpark site was identified as appropriate for 100% affordable rental housing.
You can read the original motion here.