GTA Construction News staff writer
Toronto City council has approved a sweeping new housing plan aimed at accelerating the construction of more than 10,800 homes across Toronto, including nearly 4,000 affordable and rent-controlled units.
At a meeting in July, council endorsed recommendations in the City staff report From Concept to Construction: Creating More Homes Across the Housing Continuum, which outlines actions and investments supporting 39 housing projects in 13 wards.
“This will allow us to deliver more than 10,000 new homes in Toronto,” Mayor Olivia Chow said. “We approved actions to speed up development, invest in affordable housing and support community housing projects.”
The city has committed more than $245 million in capital funding, loans, and incentives to support housing delivery. That includes nearly $86 million in capital grants for 14 projects that will create over 3,200 new rental homes, of which 963 will be affordable, supportive, or rent-geared-to-income (RGI).
An additional $17 million in interest-free loans will go toward early planning and site work for 13 new affordable housing developments. More than 1,000 units led by community housing groups will receive property tax exemptions to help maintain long-term affordability.
Currently, more than 230 affordable housing projects are in the City’s development pipeline. Forty-three of those are under construction, representing more than 9,500 new homes—nearly 70 per cent of which will be affordable or rent-controlled.
To help coordinate and streamline future developments, a new Housing Development Office (HDO) will be created to oversee implementation of the Toronto Builds Policy Framework, which prioritizes building complete, mixed-income communities on City-owned land. The HDO will also serve as a single point of accountability for the delivery of City-led and City-supported housing initiatives.
Also, councillors have asked for $596 million from the province to support about 20,000 new rental units through the Purpose-built Rental Housing Incentives program. It is also requesting the federal government increase investment in Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) programs to move more projects from approval to construction.
