The City of Toronto has taken the next step in its plan to build over 900 homes along Eglinton Avenue East, announcing on Tuesday its three development partners for the ambitious project.
Civic Developments, Windmill Developments and Co-operative Housing Federation will team up with the City of Toronto's real estate arm, CreateTO, for a three-building housing project at 2444 Eglinton Avenue East.
Two of the buildings will be co-ops, with the third being a market ownership building. They'll collectively house a total of 918 homes, 612 of which will be rent-geared-to-income, affordable, and market rent controlled co-operative housing units, making it one of the largest affordable housing developments in Ontario in the past 25 years.
"This will be the largest co-operative housing development in Ontario to date and will serve as a roadmap to help guide future developments, because we need more housing and everyone at the table to deliver it," said Mayor Olivia Chow.
The units will range in size from studios to three-bedrooms, providing options for a variety of households. Rents for the rent-geared-to-income units will be set between 40% and 100% of the average market rent, the City says.
The development won't just be used for housing, though, with 3,580 sq. ft of community space and 12,770 sq ft of retail space planned as well.
Councillor Gord Perks, Chair of the Planing and Housing Committee, highlights that the project will create a "diverse, transit-oriented community." The planned development site is located just across the street from the Kennedy GO station and subway station, as well as the perpetually delayed Eglinton Crosstown LRT (if and when it ever finishes construction).
Councillor Michael Thompson, who represents Scarborough Centre, welcomed the step forward in development, saying that "the added density from this housing project ensures the City is optimizing the value of its land and will feed the transit infrastructure needed to better serve our residents.”
The project comes as part of the City's Housing Now Initiative. Approved in January 2019, the program has a goal of building 65,000 new rent-controlled homes over the next 10 years. To date, the City of Toronto has committed roughly $2B in land value, funding, and financial incentives towards that goal.
Construction is expected to start on the Eglinton project this year, though no specific date was provided.
