Public Housing Project Near Concord’s Condo Sites Cancelled
The proposed affordable housing project in the Railways Lands condominium development is now in limbo due to the Toronto Community Housing Corporation’s lack of funding for the project. This has caused quite a stir in the area for residents and potential investors. The location serves residents of nearby condo towers built by Concord Adex. The land was allocated for two schools, a community centre, daycare and an affordable housing development. The site just west of the Rogers Centre was planned to include a building of 322 affordable units.
Local Councillor Adam Vaughan has said the cut back was due to insufficient provincial and federal funding. “We’re going to have to sell to a private developer. I would rather put the money from that back into public housing somewhere else, but my guess is they’ll use it to balance the budget.”
Rental vacancies are low causing higher rents in the Toronto area. Some argue that rental subsidies or renovation allowances for existing public housing would be a better use of the funds. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Rental Market Survey, Toronto’s vacancy rate for 2010 was 0.4%. “Condominium apartments represent a very important component of the rental housing stock in the GTA,” said TREB President Richard Silver. “We have seen very little purpose-built rental apartment construction over the past few years.”
The local condominium owners have voiced their resentment on the issue saying they have “paid these development fees for two schools, a community centre and affordable housing. If these aren’t happening, will there be a refund for the amounts charged? Why should they make a profit off of this?” Sean Gadon, director of the city’s affordable housing office has stated “They would like to see it get going. There’s some urgency because the funds have been collected for these purposes and a new community is building up around it.”
It is still unknown the definite plans of this site, but city real estate director Joe Casali said “the land may be sold if a market condominium ends up as the housing type. Another possibility is a system of mixed ownership involving the city, school boards and a private developer.”The city is currently seeking a partner to build the entire development. Proportions of those units that would be affordable, if any, are still unclear.
