The City of Toronto and CreateTO have announced the development partners for a third Housing Now site, which will continue to advance the creation of new affordable and market rental housing for Toronto residents.
The development of the Phase One Housing Now site at 777 Victoria Park Ave. has been awarded to Alterra Group of Companies and Mahogany Management. Last month, the City and CreateTO announced development partners for the Housing Now Phase One sites at 50 Wilson Heights Blvd. and 705 Warden Ave.
Across these three sites, the development partners will build almost 2,600 new homes, including more than 2,100 rental homes, of which more than 1,000 will be affordable rental homes.
The two-acre site at 777 Victoria Park Ave., located just north of Danforth Avenue, will deliver a minimum of 508 residential homes, including 254 affordable rental homes and
254 market rental homes. The development will also deliver a new child care centre, retail and community space, and new publicly accessible open space and improvements to the public realm. The site will also include a minimum of 20 per cent accessible affordable rental homes and 15 per cent accessible market rental homes.
The site at 777 Victoria Park Ave. is one of 21 City-owned sites included in the Housing Now initiative. Earlier this month, City Council expanded the program, adding Phase Three, which includes four new sites to the 17 previous sites included in Phases One and Two. The Phase Three sites are estimated to provide between 1,150 and 1,400 new homes, including between 450 and 600 affordable rental homes.
It is estimated that the 21 sites within the Housing Now initiative will deliver more than 14,600 new residential homes across the city, including more than 10,000 rental homes, of which approximately 5,500 will be affordable rental homes.
The affordable homes created through Housing Now will create a range of transit-oriented housing options for a range of incomes and needs, as well as deliver other important city-building objectives such as child-care, community space and parks. The homes will be affordable to Toronto residents working in professions such as early childhood educators, construction labourers, or registered practical nurses. Many of these residents have been recognized as essential workers delivering critical services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The development partners were selected through a competitive market offering process launched by CBRE Limited on behalf of the City and CreateTO, in the fall of 2019.
The developments will be funded by the selected for-profit and not-for-profit developer proponents. The City is supporting the delivery of affordable housing on Housing Now sites by leveraging an estimated $925 million in land value, and by offering financial incentives through the Open Door program, including waiving development charges, planning and building fees, and parkland dedication fees, and providing relief from property taxes, for the affordable component of each project. To date, these incentives are valued at more than $433 million across the Housing Now portfolio. In total, the City is contributing more than $1.3 billion to the delivery of affordable homes through this initiative, including land and City incentives. Housing Now projects are also conditional on financing through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Rental Construction Financing Initiative.
Construction at 777 Victoria Park Ave. is slated to begin in Q2 2022.
More information about Housing Now is available here
Quotes:
“Today is National Housing Day and I’m proud that we’re able to announce the development partners for yet another Housing Now site. With Council’s decision earlier this month, we now have 21 sites across the city included within this program. Housing Now is helping to create thousands of transit-oriented, new affordable rental homes and I’m pleased this new mixed-income, mixed-use development at 777 Victoria Park Ave. will deliver more than 250 new affordable rental homes in Scarborough.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Having a place to live is fundamental to an individual’s health and well-being and people across Toronto are in desperate need of housing options. Our goal is to meet the demand through a variety of initiatives and so I’m very pleased that a development team has been selected for 777 Victoria Park Ave. One hundred per cent of the homes on this site will be rental homes, with approximately 50 per cent being affordable rental homes – a number that gets us one step closer to meeting our housing goals.”
– Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão (Davenport)
“777 Victoria Park Ave. is the second of two Housing Now sites in Scarborough Southwest. These developments will deliver much-needed affordable and market rental housing in addition to bringing new amenities to the local community. A child care centre, retail and community space, and new publicly accessible open space will also be included on this site. I look forward to introducing the development partners to the community to engage ongoing consultations, as this project moves forward.”
– Councillor Gary Crawford (Scarborough Southwest)
CreateTO was formed in 2018 as the City of Toronto’s real estate agency. The organization brings together stakeholders, partners and community members to ensure the best use of the City’s real estate assets for today and tomorrow. CreateTO manages the City’s $27 billion real estate portfolio, develops City buildings and lands for municipal purposes and delivers client focused real estate solutions – ensuring a balance of both community and economic benefits. For more information, visit here
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Media Contacts:
Media Relations, City of Toronto, media@toronto.ca
Susan O’Neill, Director, Communications & Marketing, CreateTO, soneill@createto.ca