Vacant upscale north Toronto homes should house low-income families, advocates say
CBC
A commercial real estate developer well known for his philanthropic work, along with a ratepayers group and a local refugee shelter, are floating a plan to transform 10 vacant houses in a tony north Toronto neighbourhood into temporary homes for low income families.
But it's not clear how much support the group will get, from city hall or the owner of the houses.
Developer David Walsh, the FCJ Refugee Centre, and Geoff Kettel of the Leaside Residents Association, are hoping city council will help convince the owner of the vacant luxury homes to let them be converted into temporary housing.
"It's a perfect opportunity," said Tsering Lhamo, co-executive director of the refugee centre, who met earlier this week with Walsh and Kettel out front of the houses on Glazebrook Avenue. "These [homes] are a really good opportunity and I'm really sad and also surprised at [the fact that] they're standing here unoccupied."
The houses have been sitting vacant for about a year. They were bought in 2023 by Gairloch Developments, which plans to demolish the houses and turn the properties into a 34-story residential tower.
But the city has denied Gairloch a demolition permit because the developer hasn't yet secured a building permit, according to city records, leaving the project in limbo.
Walsh, a past winner of the Jane Jacobs Prize for his work championing social housing initiatives, asked city councillors on Dec. 3 to consider a plan to turn the houses into transitional homes run by social housing agencies. Kettel made a similar pitch to another city hall committee earlier this year.
So far, there's been no response from councillors, they say. But Coun. Rachel Chernos Lin, whose ward includes the 10 homes, warns the plan may not be feasible.
In an interview with CBC Toronto she called it "an interesting idea." But she added: "Whether it's appropriate for the city to be the broker here ... I don't know that we have the resources or the capability to do that."
The plan, as outlined to CBC Toronto by Walsh, Lhamo and Kettel, would see the homes undergo minor repairs and cleanup, with the city's help.
The homes would then be turned over to a social housing agency which would operate as the landlord, choosing the family who'd live in the home and collecting the rent, which would be turned over to the developer.
Chernos Lin also mentioned potential liability issues, and relocation challenges, once it's time for the homes to be returned to the developer.
But the biggest stumbling block, all three acknowledge, would be getting the company that owns the properties on board.
The company has not responded to emails from CBC Toronto. Walsh says he has also reached out to Gairloch with no response so far.
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