Toronto – Mayor Olivia Chow was joined by Arif Virani, Minister of Justice, Attorney General of Canada and Member of Parliament for Parkdale-High Park and Councillor Gord Perks (Parkdale-High Park), Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, to announce funding for 40 new rent-geared-to-income and supportive homes at 11 Brock Ave.
The new homes have been made possible through a partnership between the City of Toronto and the Government of Canada as part of Phase Three of the federal Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI), a capital funding program that helps create new affordable and supportive rental housing for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
The City will lead the project’s development as part of its public builder role, which aims to accelerate the delivery of affordable homes for low- and moderate-income residents. The project is part of a systemic shift in Toronto’s housing system to create more public and not-for-profit owned and operated purpose-built rental homes.
About homes at 11 Brock Ave.
The site at 11 Brock Ave. is one of the five housing ready sites announced in a report adopted by the City’s Executive Committee on October 31 called “Generational Transformation of Toronto’s Housing System to Urgently Build More Affordable Homes.” It is also the first of five sites identified in the report where the City will advance a new public builder model to oversee all aspects of the development process and accelerate the delivery of homes for lower income residents.
The building will include 40 new homes consisting of private studio apartments with a kitchenette and bathroom, as well as amenity spaces for tenants. These homes will be dedicated to people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and will be offered as Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) homes with no tenant paying more than 30 per cent of their income or the shelter allowance of their income support benefit on rent.
The new homes will be operated as supportive housing by an experienced not-for-profit housing provider. Residents of supportive housing have access to a range of support services intended to improve their health and well-being. The City will issue a Request for Proposals for a building operator for this site by the end of 2023.
Project investments
This project has been made possible through a partnership between the federal and municipal governments through Phase Three of the RHI, delivered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation under the National Housing Strategy (NHS). To date, the City has received almost $440 million in capital grant funding through the RHI Phases One and Two, with more than 1,000 homes completed or underway. The 11 Brock Ave. project received $21.6 million in capital funding from the federal government. The City has committed $3.4 million in financial incentives such as waivers of development charges and planning and building fees and property tax exemptions.
In 2022, the Government of Ontario committed to partnering with the City on its supportive housing strategy and provided $48 million in operating funding for wraparound support services for buildings completed and underway. Additional support services funding is required from the Province for the new homes that will receive federal capital funding under RHI Phase Three including the 40 supportive homes to be completed at 11 Brock Ave. The City looks forward to working with the Government of Ontario to secure this funding.
HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan
RHI funding supports the implementation of the City’s HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan (HousingTO Action Plan) that targets 65,000 new rent-controlled homes across the city over 10 years including 6,500 RGI homes and 18,000 supportive homes with a focus on helping people exit homelessness. All orders of government need even stronger action across the full housing continuum in response to the worsening housing and homelessness crisis. The City’s staff report “Generational Transformation of Toronto’s Housing System to Urgently Build More Affordable Homes” charts a way forward to transform Toronto’s housing system and improve housing outcomes for low- and middle-income Torontonians. More information on the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan is available on the City’s website. More information on the “Generational Transformation of Toronto’s Housing System to Urgently Build More Affordable Homes” report is available.
“Increasing the supply of supportive housing is critical to addressing homelessness in Toronto. Today’s announcement of federal funding for this much needed housing is very welcome – and an example of the kinds of investment and partnership required to address Toronto’s housing and homelessness crisis. 11 Brock Ave. advances the City’s public builder model and I’m excited to see the Government of Canada supporting this generational opportunity to get back into the business of building housing.” – Mayor Olivia Chow