News Release November 22, 2021 The City of Toronto and CreateTO have announced the development partners for a third Housing Now site, which will continue to advance the creation of new affordable and market rental housing for Toronto residents. The development of the Phase One Housing Now site...
www.toronto.ca
City of Toronto and CreateTO announce development partners for a third Housing Now site
News Release
November 22, 2021
The City of Toronto and CreateTO have announced the development partners for a third Housing Now site, which will continue to advance the creation of new affordable and market rental housing for Toronto residents.
The development of the Phase One Housing Now site at 777 Victoria Park Ave. has been awarded to Alterra Group of Companies and Mahogany Management. Last month, the City and CreateTO announced development partners for the Housing Now Phase One sites at 50 Wilson Heights Blvd. and 705 Warden Ave.
Across these three sites, the development partners will build almost 2,600 new homes, including more than 2,100 rental homes, of which more than 1,000 will be affordable rental homes.
The two-acre site at 777 Victoria Park Ave., located just north of Danforth Avenue, will deliver a minimum of 508 residential homes, including 254 affordable rental homes and 254 market rental homes. The development will also deliver a new child care centre, retail and community space, and new publicly accessible open space and improvements to the public realm. The site will also include a minimum of 20 per cent accessible affordable rental homes and 15 per cent accessible market rental homes.
The site at 777 Victoria Park Ave. is one of 21 City-owned sites included in the Housing Now initiative. Earlier this month, City Council expanded the program, adding Phase Three, which includes four new sites to the 17 previous sites included in Phases One and Two. The Phase Three sites are estimated to provide between 1,150 and 1,400 new homes, including between 450 and 600 affordable rental homes.
It is estimated that the 21 sites within the Housing Now initiative will deliver more than 14,600 new residential homes across the city, including more than 10,000 rental homes, of which approximately 5,500 will be affordable rental homes.
The affordable homes created through Housing Now will create a range of transit-oriented housing options for a range of incomes and needs, as well as deliver other important city-building objectives such as child-care, community space and parks. The homes will be affordable to Toronto residents working in professions such as early childhood educators, construction labourers, or registered practical nurses. Many of these residents have been recognized as essential workers delivering critical services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The development partners were selected through a competitive market offering process launched by CBRE Limited on behalf of the City and CreateTO, in the fall of 2019.
The developments will be funded by the selected for-profit and not-for-profit developer proponents. The City is supporting the delivery of affordable housing on Housing Now sites by leveraging an estimated $925 million in land value, and by offering financial incentives through the Open Door program, including waiving development charges, planning and building fees, and parkland dedication fees, and providing relief from property taxes, for the affordable component of each project. To date, these incentives are valued at more than $433 million across the Housing Now portfolio. In total, the City is contributing more than $1.3 billion to the delivery of affordable homes through this initiative, including land and City incentives. Housing Now projects are also conditional on financing through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Rental Construction Financing Initiative.
Construction at 777 Victoria Park Ave. is slated to begin in Q2 2022.
More information about Housing Now is available
here