Toronto committee endorses plan to build nearly 6,000 housing units

Toronto's housing committee has endorsed a plan Thursday to build almost 6,000 new rental units across the city at a cost of over $350 million, in a bid to get projects "unstuck" from the development pipeline.

With the Rental Housing Supply Program, the city will provide up to $260,000 per unit to builders to help accelerate the development of 18 affordable housing rental and rent-geared-to-income projects, according to a staff report. The cash would help cover the cost of high interest rates and inflation that have stalled the projects in the first place.

Parkdale-High Park Coun. Gord Perks, who's the chair of the planning and housing committee, said if this is approved by council, the plan will allow them to start construction of these projects within the next 18 months.

"This is us turning a corner," Perks told CBC Toronto.

"For the first time in, call it 40 years, we're building the right housing for people who are struggling to get homes in the city of Toronto."

The plan was celebrated overall by non-profit housing providers who spoke at the meeting, as well as other related organizations, such as The Learning Enrichment Foundation. The community services agency says it wants to build affordable housing units and community space in Mount Dennis but can't currently proceed financially.

"The Rental Housing Supply Program makes it possible and … will also, across the city, make other non-housing, non-profit organizations able to contribute," said Peter Frampton, the executive director of the foundation.

The program would set specific definitions for affordable rents, which will range from a studio apartment at $1,088 to a one-bedroom unit at $1,378, a two-bedroom at $1,992 and a three-bedroom at $2,190.

The financial incentives provided under the deal are open to public and private sector builders, but the city is hoping to grow capacity within non-profits, co-ops and Indigenous led-developers with this program. 

The public won't be able to see what projects will be eligible for the program until after the bidding process, when builders have been awarded the contract, Perks said — something housing advocate Mark Richardson took issue with.

"If there's specific terms and conditions, that's fine,"  Richardson, the technical lead of HousingNowTO, told the committee. "Who ... and what your targets are should not be deemed as sensitive information because then you're just opening yourself up to bad actors."

In order for units to be eligible for the financial incentives under this program, they must be rent-controlled for a minimum of 40 years. 

The program is part of a broader plan approved by city council last fall to build 65,000 new rent-controlled homes by 2030. The total includes 6,500 rent-geared-to income, 41,000 affordable rental and 17,500 rent-controlled market homes.

When it comes to building affordable housing, Coun. Brad Bradford called the committee's approval of the move a "good step" for affordable housing, but said more needs to be done to increase supply on the market side, too.