187 
United Way Greater Toronto (UWGT) has announced $2.2 million in capital funding for 14 community infrastructure projects across Toronto, Peel Region, and York Region, supporting initiatives ranging from supportive housing and refugee services to food security programs and culturally grounded spaces. Distributed through the organization’s Expanding Community Service Space Capital Grants program, the funding will help create roughly 140,000 ft² of new community space and support more than 320,500 ft² of housing and shelter space, as many non-profit organizations face mounting occupancy pressures across the GTA.
UrbanToronto spoke with Stefphon Nibbs, Director of Community Real Estate at UWGT, to learn more. “The current shifts with market segments like residential and retail are providing the sector with a moment to recalibrate, reinvest and reposition itself for the GTA of tomorrow,” said Nibbs.
The latest funding round forms part of UWGT’s Community Real Estate Initiative, a long-term strategy aimed at helping non-profit organizations secure stable space within rapidly changing neighbourhoods. The organization has committed $23 million over 10 years toward real estate projects, with more than $4 million already distributed across 27 grants since 2025. Alongside renovations and retrofit work, the initiative supports mixed-use developments combining housing, social services, health supports, and community programming.
“UWGT and community service organizations across the GTA are looking to seize the current market opportunities to ensure that people living in poverty and communities at large can access the right housing and right services where and when they need them across the GTA,” Nibbs said.
The initiative comes as demand for food banks, housing supports, newcomer services, and mental health programming continues to rise. Many organizations are simultaneously confronting escalating commercial rents, redevelopment pressures, and shrinking operational flexibility, particularly in high-growth neighbourhoods where agencies risk being priced out of the communities they serve. UWGT says its funding strategy is intended to help agencies secure long-term operational stability through ownership, redevelopment partnerships, and permanent facilities.
“With 65% of not-for-profit service providers currently in commercial leased spaces, UWGT is encouraging and enabling the social services sector to invest more in its foundations, literally, reducing the real risks of displacement and service discrimination to ensure that people will be able to access services close to home, including employment services, family resources, and food supports,” said Nibbs.
The latest funding round includes eight projects in Toronto, four in York Region, and two in Peel Region, ranging from heritage rehabilitation and accessibility retrofits to supportive housing redevelopments and community hub expansions. Many combine housing, food programs, counselling services, health supports, employment training, and cultural programming under one roof. UWGT says most second-round projects are expected to reach completion between 2027 and 2028, with funding decisions evaluated based on community impact, project readiness, financial feasibility, and long-term operational capacity.
Among the projects receiving support is StepStones for Youth’s planned redevelopment of a supportive housing site in Toronto for young people transitioning out of foster care and group homes. In Vaughan, CHATS (Community & Home Assistance to Seniors) is renovating a historic building to create the city’s first not-for-profit respite centre, providing short-term dementia care in a residential-style setting.
Other initiatives include the Yonge Street Mission’s ELEV8, which aims to combine affordable housing, workforce training, and community programming within a single facility. Toronto’s Somali Centre for Culture and Recreation is meanwhile advancing a new building that will provide recreational programming, cultural and heritage services, and social supports for community members ranging from children to seniors.
“Organizations across the sector are looking at their revenue streams and assets and thinking about how to best position themselves for the future, both to provide services in underserved communities and to ensure that they can leverage long-term changes as population and neighbourhood needs grow,” Nibbs told UrbanToronto.
Beyond the current funding round, UWGT says the initiative forms part of a larger effort to reshape how community infrastructure is planned and delivered across the region. In addition to expanding its capital grant programs, the organization is continuing to develop new Community Hubs in locations including Unionville, Parkdale, Glenforest, Richmond Hill, Cooksville, and Bridletowne, while partnering with municipalities, agencies, and institutional landowners to secure long-term non-market space for social services. “Between now and 2035, UWGT will be investing at least $100 million to support the development of community service spaces across the GTA,” Nibbs said.
* * *
UrbanToronto's research and data service, UTPro, provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe—from proposal through to completion. Other services include Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
