Toronto Builds

Toronto Builds at a glance

  • A City framework for building affordable rental housing on City-owned land
  • Applies to 39 publicly-owned sites across Toronto
  • Sets minimum requirements for affordable rental housing
  • Aligns and replaces previous City programs, including Housing Now and ModernTO

What is Toronto Builds

The Toronto Builds Policy Framework establishes a consistent approach to guide the redevelopment of land owned by the City, its agencies and corporations to build new affordable homes building affordable rental homes on City-owned land. It harmonizes policies from previous City programs and creates a strong focus on building a range of rental homes within complete communities while maintaining ownership of public land.

Projects under the Toronto Builds Framework will:

  • Prioritize retention of public land to create mixed-income, complete communities with diverse housing options including family-sized and accessible homes.
  • Deliver a range of new rental homes, including rent-geared-to-income homes, and at least 30 per cent of new homes across the Toronto Builds portfolio as affordable rental.
  • Create new rent-geared-to-income homes with at least 20 per cent of affordable units per project made available for tenants in receipt of housing benefits.
  • Ensure new affordable homes meet the City’s income-based definition for a minimum of 40 years.
  • Grow the capacity of the community housing sector by prioritizing non-market ownership and operations of new homes.
  • Create community benefits targets for local and diverse hiring and procurements.
  • Create community benefits targets for local and diverse hiring and procurements.
  • City Council will receive annual updates on the Toronto Builds portfolio, including development stages of individual projects and their expected housing outcomes.
  • Updates on the progress of Toronto Builds projects can also be found on the Toronto Housing Data Hub.
  • The Toronto Builds portfolio consists of 39 housing development sites.
  • The City’s Housing Development Office will have end-to-end oversight of the portfolio and the authority to add or remove sites from the portfolio.
  • The City leverages the skills and expertise of various City divisions, as well as CreateTO and the Toronto Community Housing Corporation to deliver new affordable housing.
  • More information about each project can be found on CreateTO’s website.

These projects are currently being built.

  • 777 Victoria Park Ave.
  • 50 Wilson Heights Blvd.
  • 2444 Eglinton Ave. E.
  • Bloor-Kipling Block 1 (5207 Dundas St. W.)

Housing Now was an initiative launched in 2019 to redevelop prime, City-owned sites to create housing close to transit, affordable to households with a range of incomes and inclusive of a variety of services.

In 2023, City Council approved flexibility in the Housing Now guidelines to support viability of the projects.

Toronto Builds harmonizes policies from previous City programs, including Housing Now. Twenty-two sites were approved as Housing Now sites. Most of these sites are proceeding under the Toronto Builds framework; six will remain in the Housing Now portfolio because they have already secured development partners.

The Toronto Builds Policy Framework was approved by City Council in May 2025. 

In July 2025, City Council approved the delivery model for the implementation of the Toronto Builds Policy Framework.