Michael Lewis
Special to GTA Construction News
Toronto city council has adopted a motion from Mayor Olivia Chow that waives development charges and parkland dedications on sixplex housing after a pilot project easing restrictions on multiplexes in Scarborough North drew zero permit applications from developers.
“We need to find a way to make these projects viable,” Mayor Chow said at council’s meeting last week. “We need to make them easier and cheaper to build.”
The move, which expands on Toronto’s waiver for multiplexes with up to four units, is part of efforts championed by the mayor to encourage more diverse and affordable “gentle density” housing suitable for seniors, extended families, and newcomers.
It comes at a time when high building material and labour costs, along with economic uncertainty exacerbated by President Trump’s tariffs, have kept residential builders on the sidelines.
The DC waiver also reflects federal pressure for Toronto to meet housing targets set out in an agreement with Ottawa to secure federal housing funding, with Toronto at risk of losing funds because of its recent decision not to allow sixplexes as-of-right in all of the city’s 25 wards.
Federal housing minister Gregor Roberston says the government will make a final determination in January on whether Toronto has fulfilled terms of the agreement.
Mayor Chow told council that the city is meeting the deal’s criteria and is on track to exceed a commitment to build 60,980 homes over three years. She said Toronto has also sped up development approvals.
The mayor noted that waiving development charges and parkland fees – used to pay for development infrastructure and to acquire parkland — results in millions in lost revenue.
But she also pointed out that no payments are collected without active construction, while city staff in a report suggested that the increased housing supply would offset the loss.
Mayors of several Ontario municipalities have responded to builders’ concerns about rising development charges by reducing or suspending the fees, which are seen as contributing to development slowdowns.
And despite the mayor’s suggestion that “sixplexes fit quite nicely into neighborhoods,” efforts to boost multiplex development have encountered opposition from ratepayers’ groups who say multi-tenant, multi-storey units in single family neighborhoods diminish liveability and weigh on property values.
The opposition led to a majority of councillors voting to water down a motion that would have permitted sixplexes in all Toronto wards without special permission — deciding in June to allow the housing in nine downtown and Scarborough wards.
And at least three proposed densification housing projects have been appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal, including a 64-storey building plan for a site occupied by a three-storey heritage building.
The move to forgo DC charges until the market rebounds and for the city to step up as a public builder are part of a series of actions and investments that support 39 projects in 13 wards to build 10,815 new homes — including 3,945 rent-geared-to-income, affordable and rent-controlled homes. More than $245 million in municipal funding, loans and incentives have been allocated to the projects.
Other steps include:
- $86 million in capital grant funding from the city for 14 projects creating more than 3,200 new rental homes, including 963 affordable, supportive and RGI units.
- $17 million in interest-free loans to be allocated to help community housing providers complete early planning and site preparation work for 13 affordable housing projects.
- More than 1,000 affordable and community housing-led, rent-controlled homes granted property tax exemptions to maintain affordable rents.
The city in a statement said 230 affordable housing projects are in its housing pipeline, but just 43 are under construction. Upon completion, the 43 projects would create more than 9,500 new homes, including nearly 7,200 purpose-built rentals, with 70 per cent rent controlled.
The city is calling on the province to invest $596 million to unlock almost 20,000 new rental homes and it wants the federal government to increase investment in Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funding and financing programs.
Council at its latest meeting, meanwhile, unanimously approved an application resubmission for the Hanger District, the first and largest development at the 370-acre former Downsview Airport lands in central Toronto.
At just over 100 acres and about 5.3 million square feet, the Northcrest Developments-led Hangar District is one of the biggest urban redevelopments in North America.
It will incorporate existing hangars and buildings and include 2,850 residential units to create about 7,400 new jobs, developers say. The district includes mixed-use, institutional and employment designations over 500,000 square feet in the north hangar complex.
Anchored by an old airport hangar, the proposed development will create eight acres of parks and open spaces, community-focused amenities, and a pedestrian bridge linking to the neighbouring 291-acre Downsview Park. The project is projected to break ground in 2026.
