Ontario Construction News staff writer
A new mixed affordable and supportive rental development has been completed in Scarborough. The building, developed by Birchmount Green, Inc., targets low-and moderate-income households.
Designed to be an integrated community, with a broad community and accommodating for a variety of tenants, the building features:
45 accessible homes
- A large amenity room with access to outdoor greenery and barbecues
- An accessible rooftop garden, a library, indoor and outdoor children’s play areas and bicycle storage
- Offices for support service organizations
An on-site coffee shop, “The Social Brew, Café, and Marketplace,” a social enterprise managed by Community Living Toronto and Corbrook Awakening Abilities and will be staffed by adults living with a disability. It will also serve as a location for barista training, offered by Community Living Toronto.
The new homes are a step towards achieving the City’s HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan (HousingTO Action Plan) goals, including 65,000 new rent-controlled home approvals across the city over 10 years, of which at least 6,500 will be new rent-geared-to-income homes and 18,000 supportive homes with a focus on helping people exit homelessness.
Birchmount Green was supported by the City of Toronto’s Open Door program which provides capital funding and incentives in addition to federal funding. The City’s Open Door program offers capital funding and/or financial incentives to support non-profit and private sector housing developers to create new affordable rental housing for low- and moderate-income households.
“I am incredibly honoured and grateful to have the opportunity to work with the City of Toronto, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, our incredible support service partners and our dedicated development and construction team to provide timely, high quality, affordable and supportive housing,” said Tim Neeb, president, Birchmount Green, Inc. “I cannot imagine a better reward for all of our passionate teamwork than being able to offer our tenants a sustainable, accessible, beautiful new home in time for the holidays.”