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Yesterday, shovels hit the ground in Toronto's Mount Dennis neighbourhood for the ground breaking of The Dennis, a 37-storey rental tower at 8 Locust Street, just north of the intersection of Eglinton Avenue West and Weston Road, and steps from the forthcoming Mount Dennis station on Eglinton Line 5, GO Kitchener, and UP Express lines. The new development will introduce 89 affordable units and six rental replacement homes, marking one of the first projects to move forward under the City's Purpose-Built Rental Housing Incentives Stream. Projects supported through the program benefit not only from City incentives but also from federal financing tools, with affordability commitments secured for periods ranging from 40 to 99 years.
The ground breaking ceremony was attended by Mayor Olivia Chow, Councillor Frances Nunziata of York South-Weston, Joseph Mancinelli, LiUNA International Vice President and Regional Manager for Central and Eastern Canada, and Jaime McKenna, President of Fengate Real Estate. “The City of Toronto is taking bold steps to build more affordable homes for Torontonians,” said Mayor Chow. “Through our incentive program that waives development charges and taxes, we’re breaking ground on 448 new homes in York South-Weston – with 20% designated affordable.”
“On behalf of LiUNA, we are proud to partner with the City of Toronto to expand its purpose-built rental housing platform and deliver much-needed new, attainable housing to the city,” said Mancinelli.
The Dennis is the first development in York South–Weston to benefit from the City’s new rental housing incentives. “I am looking forward to it being the start of more shovels in the ground,” said Councillor Nunziata. “There are several approved housing projects in my ward, and I hope more will be able to participate in this important accelerator program to get affordable housing in York South-Weston.”
Rising 120m and designed by WZMH Architects for LiUNA, Fengate, The Hi-Rise Group, and ITC Construction Group, the tower will bring a mix of 66 studios, 203 one-bedroom, 133 two-bedroom, and 46 three-bedroom apartments. Residents will have access to 81 vehicle spaces and 386 bicycle parking spots across two underground levels, while shared amenities are planned to include co-working areas, lounges, a games room, a theatre, and event spaces. The project is targeting LEED Gold certification.
“Initiatives such as the City of Toronto’s Purpose-built Rental Housing Incentives Stream are vital to the future of residential development within our city,” said McKenna.
Municipal contributions toward The Dennis are supported through the City’s Purpose-Built Rental Housing Incentives Stream, valued at roughly $29 million. The package includes a permanent deferral of development charges and a 15% property tax reduction for the market rental suites, along with a full exemption from fees, charges, and property taxes for the affordable units over a 40-year term.
Launched in late 2024, the program has already secured more than 8,000 new rental homes citywide, including about 2,000 affordable units, with an estimated cost to the City of $457.5 million. It forms part of a wider housing agenda that now counts 44 projects under construction, set to add over 10,000 homes, with nearly half of them rent-controlled or affordable. City officials are urging further investment from the Province and the federal government to expand the program, with the potential to unlock close to 16,000 additional rental homes over the next two years.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | Bousfields, Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, Grounded Engineering Inc., Land Art Design Landscape Architects Inc, Quasar Consulting Group, WZMH Architects |
