Today, Mayor Olivia Chow announced the opening of 220 new mixed affordable and supportive rental homes at Birchmount Green, a development by Birchmount Green, Inc., for low-and moderate-income households at 1236 Birchmount Rd. Mayor Chow was joined by Salma Zahid, Member of Parliament for Scarborough Centre; Councillor Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre); Tim Neeb, President, Birchmount Green, Inc. and community partner leaders.
Tenants at Birchmount Green are selected through a combination of not-for-profit referral partners, which match tenants to 98 of the homes that provide a range of supports. Of these, 88 units are rent-geared-to-income with rents not exceeding 30 per cent of a household’s income.10 are average market rent (AMR) which is defined annually by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Rents for the remaining 122 homes will not exceed 100 per cent of AMR. All the homes are at or below AMR making them affordable for a range of low- to moderate-income households.
Designed to be an integrated community, with a broad community and accommodating for a variety of tenants, the building features:
The City of Toronto is working with six not-for-profit referral partners at Birchmount Green including:
These new homes are a step towards achieving the City’s HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan (HousingTO Action Plan) goals, including 65,000 new rent-controlled home approvals across the city over 10 years, of which at least 6,500 will be new rent-geared-to-income homes and 18,000 supportive homes with a focus on helping people exit homelessness.
Birchmount Green was supported by the City of Toronto’s Open Door program which provides capital funding and incentives in addition to federal funding. The City’s Open Door program offers capital funding and/or financial incentives to support non-profit and private sector housing developers to create new affordable rental housing for low- and moderate-income households.
Information on the random selection process is available on the City’s Affordable Rental Homes webpage: www.toronto.ca/community-people/affordable-rental-homes/.
More information about Toronto’s housing approach is available on the City’s HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan webpage: www.toronto.ca/housingto-2020-2030-action-plan/.
Quotes:
“I’m proud to be in Scarborough today to celebrate with the new residents of Birchmount Green as we officially open the building. This is the kind of supportive community we want to build here in Scarborough and beyond. Birchmount Green is an example of what is possible when government, non-profit housing and service providers work together to build affordable homes. I am grateful to the incredible partners we have had the privilege of working with throughout this process who share our commitment to making housing affordable and I look forward to seeing more such integrated communities grow across the City.”
– Mayor Olivia Chow
“Today is a day of celebration. The Birchmount Green project represents the accomplishments of so many people and organizations, from our federal government to our partners. This collaboration between key community stakeholders and different levels of government demonstrates how working together can improve an entire community. I wish the new residents great success in their new homes.”
– Salma Zahid, Member of Parliament for Scarborough Centre
“Birchmount Green is proof of the progress that is possible as we respond to Toronto’s housing crisis. These 220 homes aren’t just individual units, they form a community of people from all walks of life – new neighbours and future friends. We are grateful for all the housing partners who have worked together to make this community possible, especially for Mahogany Management as they have spearheaded the development and seen it through from inception to completion.”
– Councillor Gord Perks (Parkdale-High Park), Chair of the Planning & Housing Committee
“Scarborough is a place of welcome, and it gives me great pleasure to officially open Birchmount Green here today. I am pleased that Scarborough is home to this new community and look forward to welcoming all the residents into our neighbourhood. I know that this will not only be an amazing home for many people, it’ll also be a community hub and gathering space for a good local cup of coffee right here at Community Living’s on-site café, ‘The Social Brew, Café and Market Place.’”
– Councillor Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre)
“I am incredibly honoured and grateful to have the opportunity to work with the City of Toronto, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, our incredible support service partners and our dedicated development and construction team to provide timely, high quality, affordable and supportive housing that our tenants and ourselves can be proud of. Working with our service provider partners from day one, we remained focused on developing a strong community, promoting active living at Birchmount Green. I cannot imagine a better reward for all of our passionate teamwork than being able to offer our tenants a sustainable, accessible, beautiful new home in time for the holidays.”
– Tim Neeb, President, Birchmount Green, Inc.
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