Toronto City Council is making seniors housing a priority.
On Tuesday, they approved a motion to create a new seniors housing corporation to manage and operate 83 seniors’ buildings in the city. The entity would take over these buildings (roughly 14,000 units) from the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC).
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“Seniors in Toronto deserve housing that is both up to an appropriate standard and suitable for seniors themselves,” Mayor John Tory said at a press conference. “This will be an organization with a laser-like focus on caring for the 27,000 seniors who live in Toronto Community Housing right now.”
The recommendation to create a seniors corporation was initially made in June as part of a wider strategy to improve the living conditions of TCHC tenants. The Tenants First initiative aims to properly maintain buildings and connect tenants with appropriate community and support services. In the case of seniors, that would likely be health care agencies.
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New building management will occur in phases. Ten buildings will be placed under the new seniors housing corporation by 2020, and the rest will be added by 2022.
Although this will be a “dramatic change” for TCHC, Mayor Tory said this is what’s best for the tenants.
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“This is about being a good landlord and being a good landlord starts with making sure that we are giving people a good place to live,” Tory said. “Good in the sense that it is run well and cared for well but also good in the sense that we do partner up with healthcare and other provincial support systems to ensure a good life for senior citizens.”
No official launch date for the new corporation has been set yet, Global News reports.
