Toronto’s Open Door Program recommends steps for 651 new affordable homes

Mayor John Tory and Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão (Ward 18 Davenport), Council’s Housing Advocate, today announced the results of the 2019 call for Affordable Rental Housing Applications as part of the City’s Open Door Program to create more affordable rental housing across Toronto. The report will go before City Council in October for approval. 

The proposals follow a competitive Call for Applications that was issued on February 25 and closed on May 3. The report recommends eight non-profit and private sector development proposals, representing a total of 651 affordable homes. Three of the eight recommended proposals are from non-profit housing organizations representing 215 homes across Toronto. In addition, the report recommends pre-development funding for five non-profit groups to assist them in revising their plans should they wish to apply in future Call for Applications. These five proposals represent another potential 538 non-profit homes in the pipeline.

This report recommends that City Council allocate more than $12 million in City funding from the Development Charges Reserve Fund for Subsidized Housing and approximately the value of $38 million in financial incentives under the terms of the Open Door Program. City financial incentives include breaks in development charges, building permits and planning fees and municipal property taxes. The combined average of these incentives for the developments recommended is $58,850 per home.

This is the third annual Open Door Program Call for Applications and, since 2016, a total of 6,694 affordable rental homes have been approved under the program. Subject to approval of this report by Council, the total number of affordable homes created through the Open Door Program will be approximately 7,350 across the city.

A summary of the recommended developments can be found in the report here: http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2019.PH8.3

To fast track affordable housing, the Open Door Program brings together critical elements needed to kick-start affordable rental and ownership housing construction: surplus public land designated for new affordable rental and ownership housing; fast-tracked planning approvals through a Gold Star review process; additional City financial incentives; and federal/provincial funding.

Access to safe, secure, affordable housing in all parts of Toronto is a fundamental goal of the City’s 10-year Housing Opportunities Toronto (HOT) Action Plan 2010-2020. The provision of new affordable housing is also a goal of the City’s Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Quotes: 

“We want a city that is open to all – inclusive means not just embracing diverse backgrounds but also building a city in which people of all different income levels and occupations can afford to live. Residents of our city need and want access to affordable housing and as Mayor, I am committed to creating more affordable housing options for residents.”
– Mayor John Tory 

“Tackling Toronto’s affordable housing crisis is everyone’s responsibility. Through the Open Door Program, Toronto is showing that we are serious about making affordable housing a reality. We are working with developers to break down barriers and cut red tape so we can build much needed affordable housing quicker.”
– Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão

Toronto is Canada’s largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of more than 2.9 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world’s most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cityoftoronto, on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cityofto.

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