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Following Mayor John Tory's November 2015 announcement of new incentives to promote the development of affordable housing in Toronto, plans for the very plot where the announcement took place have taken a major step forward. A staff report from earlier this month recommends that City Council approve Dominus Capital Corporation—a sister company of property developer Cityzen—to construct and operate an affordable housing development on Block 36 North in the railway lands. The project would be developed and managed in partnership with Toronto Community Housing (TCHC).
The subject site on Queen’s Wharf Road—which was identified last year as a priority site for the City's Open Door policy—is immediately north of Library District Condominiums and east of the coming Mouth of the Creek Park, all of this at the northwest corner of CityPlace. The 9-storey building, designed by Zeidler Partnership Architects, will bring 80 new affordable rental homes, to be maintained for 50 years.
Units within the development will be geared towards tenants with annual incomes ranging between $34,000 and $61,240. Rents are expected to fall between 76.6% to 100% of average market rent, with one-bedroom units to rent for $850 to $1,100, two-bedrooms for $990 to $1,300, and three-bedroom units for $1,150 to $1,530. 15 units within the project would be rented for a lower cost through geared-to-income rent supplements.
The recent incentivization of affordable housing is making projects like these financially viable. Funding will be sourced from all levels of government, with the federal and provincial governments providing a combined $7m. The City will provide funding with contingencies of $6.4m made up of $3m to reduce capital costs and ensure affordability, and $3.4m for site improvements, infrastructure, development charges, public art, and land transfer taxes.
The total projected cost of the development is approximately $33m, with over $15.4m coming from from private developer Dominus to cover equity and mortgage financing. Upon completion of the building, Dominus will be leased the property for 50 years for a nominal price.
We will return with additional updates as more information about the development becomes available. In the meanwhile, you can join the conversation by visiting the associated Forum thread, or by leaving a comment using the field provided at the bottom of this page.
