City of Toronto celebrates the ground-breaking of 57 new affordable supportive homes
TORONTO, April 18, 2022 – On Thursday, Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão (Davenport), Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee and Deputy Mayor Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre), Chair of the Economic and Community Development Committee, joined Salma Zahid, Member of Parliament for Scarborough Centre to celebrate the ground-breaking of 57 new supportive and affordable homes, which will be built using modular construction, at 39 Dundalk Dr. (formerly 7 Glamorgan Ave.).
This milestone is a partnership between the City of Toronto and federal and provincial governments, combining federal capital funding, provincial support to expedite the development through a Minister’s Zoning Order and municipal project delivery. The homes, which will provide permanent supportive homes for those experiencing homelessness, will be built on land provided by the Toronto Community Housing Corporation.
Modular housing provides a unique opportunity to respond rapidly to Toronto’s urgent need to provide permanent, stable and affordable homes for people experiencing homelessness while reducing pressure on the City’s shelter system. These high-quality homes are prefabricated in a factory, and then transported to the site where they are assembled. They can be created at a lower cost and in a shorter timeframe than traditional construction. The City has requested $27 million in provincial operating funding in 2022 for more than 1,600 new supportive housing units that are coming online throughout the year to ensure tenants receive the supports they need to achieve positive health and housing outcomes.
“These Dundalk Drive homes now under construction are one more example of our work to get housing built as quickly as possible. Once this building is complete, approximately 57 people who haven’t had a place to call home will have access to their own apartment and support services to help them. It’s through innovative programs such as the City’s Modular Housing Initiative that we can get this much-needed housing built faster than ever before – built in months not years. But, we can’t do this alone,” said Mayor John Tory. “We are able to do this by working with the federal and provincial governments to make sure we meet our housing goals, expand our affordable housing supply and provide the services that keep people safe, healthy and housed,” added Tory.
The building at 39 Dundalk Dr. will offer permanent, stable and affordable homes with wraparound support services to individuals experiencing homelessness, including women, seniors, Indigenous peoples, racialized communities and those with disabilities. The 57 new homes will each be studio apartments with a kitchen and a bathroom. The five-storey building will have a dining room, program space, administrative offices and a commercial kitchen that can provide on-site meals for residents.
As an urgent response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in late 2020, City Council approved the COVID-19 Housing and Homelessness Recovery Response Plan aimed at expediting the delivery of 3,000 new affordable and supportive homes in 2021 and 2022 for people experiencing homelessness. The City is currently on track to exceed these targets and deliver more than 3,300 new affordable and supportive housing opportunities by the end of 2022, subject to confirmation of provincial operating funding.
The homes at 39 Dundalk Dr. are part of the second phase of the Modular Housing Initiative (MHI), approved by City Council on April 30, 2020. One hundred homes were completed in the first phase at 321 Dovercourt Rd. (Davenport) and 11 Macey Ave. (Scarborough Southwest). Phase Two of the initiative will deliver 150 new modular homes with supports, including the site at 39 Dundalk Dr., as well as 175 Cummer Avenue (Willowdale) and 540 Cedarvale Ave. (Beaches-East York). MHI is funded through a partnership between the City and the federal government, with the City contributing $28.75 million in capital funding and the federal government providing $18.75 million in funding through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
The creation of the new supportive housing at 39 Dundalk Dr. is part of the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan. The plan targets the approval of 40,000 new affordable rental homes with 18,000 being supportive homes, including 1,000 modular homes, to help increase housing stability for Toronto residents. There are currently a total of 109 City-led or City-supported active affordable housing development projects that will deliver an estimated 19,000 new affordable and supportive homes across the City. More information about the plan is available on the City’s website.
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