Housing Now uses City-owned land to develop affordable housing. Housing Now aims to create housing that is close to transit, includes a variety of services, and is affordable to households with a range of incomes.
Housing Now is part of the City’s HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan, Toronto’s overall strategy to address a range of housing needs.
Since Housing Now began in January 2019 the City has included 22 properties across Toronto. These properties are estimated to produce over 15,000 new homes with over 5,000 being affordable rental homes.
Housing Now currently has development approvals for 13 properties. Construction began on the first property in August 2023.
You can review information on specific Housing Now locations by visiting CreateTO’s Housing Now page.
The Housing Now Initiative represents a new city-building approach to the use of surplus City-owned lands. The Initiative will stimulate the creation of complete communities with a range of new housing where residents can afford quality housing near transit.
Over the last decade, the cost of housing in Toronto and residents’ housing choices have become increasingly restricted. The cost of both rental and ownership housing has increased significantly, while incomes have not kept pace.
The affordable units created through Housing Now will, on average, rent for 80 per cent of Toronto’s average market rent.
City Council approved a $1 million Non-Profit Housing Capacity Fund to support the participation of non-profit organizations in the Housing Now Initiative and to encourage their involvement in the market offering process for Housing Now sites, including the opportunity for long-term operation of the affordable rental units.
Additionally in the first phase of the Housing Now Initiative, four sites will be owned and operated by the non-profit and/or co-operative housing sectors.
As part of the three phases of the Housing Now Initiative, City Council has dedicated 22 City-owned sites for the development of affordable housing within mixed-income, mixed-use, transit-oriented communities. A number of sites have their own webpage with additional information as shown below.
The Housing Now Initiative follows an accelerated model to ensure an expedited route to construction and occupancy with the expectation that a site will take two to four years to deliver from Business Case Development to Market Offering to Delivery. Construction on some sites began in 2023.
| Stage 1: Business Case | Stage 2: Market Offering | Stage 3: Housing Delivery | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key Actions |
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| Duration | 3-6 months | 7-12 months | 2-4 years |
Housing Now sites are at various stages of Business Case, Market Offering and Housing Delivery. To date, Council has approved the planning permissions for 140 Merton Street, 777 Victoria Park Avenue, 50 Wilson Heights Boulevard, 705 Warden Avenue, 405 Sherbourne Street, Bloor-Kipling (Blocks 1, 2, and 5), 150 Queens Wharf Road, 158 Borough Drive, 770 Don Mills Road, 805 Don Mills Road, Parkdale Hub, Bloor-Islington, 2444 Eglinton Avenue East.
The third Housing Now Initiative Annual Report has additional information if you are interested in learning more.
To view sites with development concepts and related materials, visit their specific webpages listed in Sites.
For more information regarding upcoming public meetings please visit CreateTO’s Featured News & Events webpage..
Housing Now aims to create homes affordable for a diverse range of incomes including deeply affordable homes by setting rents between 40 per cent to 80 per cent of the City’s average market rents. At the time of occupancy, rents will be adjusted to reflect average market rent of that year.
The following sites have advanced through a site specific planning process. More information is available below.
| Address | Complete Community Elements |
|---|---|
| 140 Merton Street
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| 50 Wilson Heights Boulevard |
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| 777 Victoria Park Avenue |
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| 705 Warden Avenue |
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| 405 Sherbourne Street |
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| Bloor-Kipling Blocks 1, 2, 5 |
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| 150 Queens Wharf Road |
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| 158 Borough Drive |
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| 770 Don Mills Road |
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| 805 Don Mills Road |
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| Parkdale Hub – 1303, 1313, 1325, 1337, 1345 Queen Street West and 212, 220, 224 Cowan Avenue |
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| Bloor-Islington (3326 and 3330 Bloor Street West and 1226 and 1240 Islington Avenue) |
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| 2444 Eglinton Avenue East |
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