Commissioner's Office
Community &
Neighbourhood
Services
55 John St., Stn. 1111
Toronto, ON M5V 3C6
Tel. (416) 392-8302
Fax (416) 392-8492
October 13, 1998
To:Community & Neighbourhood Services Committee
From:Commissioner of Community & Neighbourhood Services
Subject:30 St. Lawrence Street - Status Report on Development of Housing for the Homeless
Purpose:
To provide an update on progress to date in realizing this development which will provide
permanent housing for 40 formerly homeless men and women, and to obtain authority for a
further advance from a grant authorized by the Council of the former City of Toronto.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
The recommended advance would come from previously authorized funds.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the Commissioner of Community & Neighbourhood Services be
authorized to advance a second $40,000 of the approved grant monies from the Capital
Leverage Fund to permit payment of costs incurred by the City in retaining and stabilizing the
west and north walls of the buildings being demolished on the site, as required by the
residents of the adjacent street.
Background:
The 30 St. Lawrence Street site has been owned for many years by the City of Toronto. Since
1982, Dixon Hall, a multi-service community agency which provides a range of cultural,
educational and social services, has managed an emergency shelter for homeless men in a
building on the street frontage, under contract to the City, and with staff funding through
Metro Toronto Community Services. The building was not designed for this use and was
inadequate in many ways. The shelter was closed and vacated by July 1st to allow demolition
and remediation to begin - the first step toward creating 40 units of new housing for formerly
homeless men and women.
This will be the first long-term housing project for homeless people to be developed in the
City since the cancellation of the non-profit housing programme by the provincial government
in 1995. It is being developed by Dixon Neighbourhood Homes (30 St. Lawrence Street) Inc.
(DNHI), a subsidiary organization of Dixon Hall, with $400,000 in grant support from the
City's Capital Leverage Fund (CLF) and City owned land conveyed to DNHI for a nominal
sum. DNHI will construct and manage ten 4-bedroom townhouse units on the rear portion of
the 30 St. Lawrence site. The units would be affordable based on the shelter component of the
existing social assistance programs. As the DNHI proposal uses less than the full site area, the
City will be able to offer the bulk of the street frontage for sale at a later date.
The Council of the former City of Toronto adopted Clause No. 34 of Executive Committee
Report No. 21 at its meeting on September 22 and 23, 1997, agreeing to convey the rear
portion of the site to Dixon Neighbourhood Homes (30 St. Lawrence Street) Inc., at nominal
cost, subject to a number of conditions being fulfilled within nine months, i.e., by June 23,
1998. A subsequent report, adopted by Council at its meeting on July 29, 30 and 31, 1998,
Community & Neighbourhood Services Report No. 7, Clause No. 6 outlined the progress to
that point in time. This report provides a further update.
Comments:
As site remediation is a precondition of CMHC providing mortgage insurance for DNHI's
development, and as the favourable price obtained through a tender several years ago expired
on August 1st, demolition and remediation commenced on July 20, 1998. Funds for the
demolition/remediation are coming from $190,000 in insurance settlement monies received
following an on-site fire several years ago, held for the account of this project, and $150,000
to be advanced by the City from the Land Banking Fund, coming from monies received from
the sale of sites declared surplus after the Province's cancellation of the social housing
programs.
An application to the Committee of Adjustment was necessary to amend a previously
approved site-specific bylaw. This resulted in concerns being expressed by the surrounding
community about the proposed development. In particular, the residents of a private street
immediately west of the proposed development wanted to see the west and north walls of the
buildings on the 30 St. Lawrence site retained to form a secure barrier between the two sites.
Staff consulted with the residents on several occasions to hear their concerns, to obtain their
support for the project, and to avoid objections to the Committee of Adjustment decision. As a
result, instead of the total demolition of the existing structures, which had been contemplated
at the time of tender, the west and north walls had to be hand cut to a height acceptable to the
adjacent residents. The remaining walls, which were never designed to be free-standing, and
which now function as a retaining wall (grade being higher to the west and north than on the
30 St. Lawrence site), have to be braced with concrete caissons and steel piles.
Dixon Neighbourhood Homes will make arrangements to have these additional costs included
in their capital budget and will pay the cost of this work which is, however, part of the
contract between the City and the demolition/remediation contractor and which exceeds the
contingency available to the City. To do so, however, they require another advance of $40,000
from the approved grant from the Capital Leverage Fund. The increased costs of
demolition/remediation will not adversely affect the project's ongoing viability.
The Council of the former City of Toronto granted $400,000 from the Capital Leverage Fund
to DNHI to assist with the capital costs of the development. This amount was subsequently
confirmed through the budget process of the new City. It was intended that these funds only
be advanced after closing, and according to the progress of construction. Closing will not
occur, transferring title to the site to DNHI, until they have a satisfactory construction price
and a Building Permit. As the cutting of the wall and its bracing are part of the work currently
underway on site to prepare the property for the construction of the homeless housing, an
advance of $40,000 from the previously approved grant should be provided now.
Conclusion:
Funding reductions by senior levels of government combined with social and economic
changes over the past decade have created a larger and more vulnerable group of low-income
people. The most visible aspect of this change is the more than 5,000 people in Toronto who
are homeless and who sleep in hostels, stairwells, sidewalks and over subway air vents.
DNHI is pursuing an innovative development to house 40 formerly homeless men and women
at 30 St. Lawrence Street. This is an important opportunity for the City to participate in the
creation of an innovative project to provide permanent housing for the homeless.
Contact name:
Joanne Campbell
Phone:392-7885
Fax:392-0548
Joanne Campbell
General Manager, Shelter Housing & Support Division
Shirley Hoy
Commissioner of Community & Neighbourhood Services
