“If we had done this when 100,000 (condo) units were being built and if 1 per cent were developed li

With more than 70,000 households languishing for years on Toronto's affordable housing budget rental car upgrade coupons wait list and few public dollars available for new construction, budget rental car upgrade coupons the city is turning to its burgeoning condo market for help.
Half a dozen condominium developers have inked deals with the city and non-profit housing providers to offer low-income families budget rental car upgrade coupons and individuals affordable rental and ownership units in their buildings.
The changes come in the wake of a new province-wide campaign trying to put affordable housing back on the political agenda, as low-income families and individuals struggle to pay rent in the shadow budget rental car upgrade coupons of hundreds of pricey downtown condominium towers.
But Alan Vihant, senior vice-president of development for Great Gulf Homes , says he has had no pushback from purchasers at the company's Charlie condo near King St. W. and Spadina Ave., which opened last fall.
"As a strategy for affordable housing, I think it is actually budget rental car upgrade coupons much better budget rental car upgrade coupons to distribute a few units in every building as opposed to collecting 200 units of affordable housing and putting them all in one building," he adds.
"We need a mix — from the person who works at the corner store in the base of the condominium to the person who cleans budget rental car upgrade coupons the office across the street," he says. "They all deserve the opportunity to walk to work just like everybody else in the neighbourhood."
Artscape Triangle Lofts, which opened in 2011 and occupies the first three floors of the 18-storey budget rental car upgrade coupons Westside Gallery Lofts condominium development near Queen St. W. and Dovercourt, was a pioneer, notes Sean Gadon, the city's manager of housing development.
Gadon helped the project secure city benefits, such as property tax and development charge exemptions for those units, which are part of traditional affordable housing deals. It allowed Artscape to offer 48 below-market ownership units and 20 affordable apartments as well as gallery and café space for the artists. To keep costs down, the artists don't share Westside's pool or other amenities and use a separate entrance and lobby.
A tenant since the building opened, Luk pays about $790 a month for her 600-square-foot apartment on the third floor — considerably less than the $1,009 monthly average for a one-bedroom apartment budget rental car upgrade coupons in Toronto. The city defines rents as "affordable" if they are at least 20 per cent lower than the average for a given unit.
"I just feel so relieved that I got in," she says outside the condo's brightly painted lobby over the clamour of construction crews working on condo towers to the east and north of her building. "It's the only way I could live in the city and be where my work is."
Although Luk says Artscape units with their exposed ceiling pipes and concrete walls, floors and pillars are "pretty budget rental car upgrade coupons bare bones," budget rental car upgrade coupons the security of an affordable home and the support of fellow artists nearby allows budget rental car upgrade coupons her to focus her energies on her art.
Since Artscape, Gadon has worked with developers budget rental car upgrade coupons and non-profits to secure another dozen apartments and two dozen ownership units for low-income people. The strategy is beginning to offer the possibility budget rental car upgrade coupons of mixed neighbourhoods in Toronto's growing vertical city.
Councillors Vaughan, Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27, Toronto Centre-Rosedale) budget rental car upgrade coupons and Ana Bailao (Ward 18, Davenport) who chairs the city's affordable housing committee, have been champions on the political side.
Together, they have been using Section 37 of the city's Official Plan — which allows municipalities to grant developers increased height and density in return for public budget rental car upgrade coupons benefits such as public art, parks and daycares — to squeeze affordable units into highrise condominium towers.
Proposed changes would add affordable rental units in condominiums owned and operated by non-profit housing providers and affordable home ownership, built by non-profit charities, to the list of eligible Section 37 benefits.
"It sends a very clear message that this is something that is desired," Keesmaat says. "So instead budget rental car upgrade coupons of stumbling through this on a case-by-case basis and essentially securing affordable housing simply by will and might, we instead have some more clarity on how it might work when we are going to do it."
Across the province, Richmond Hill is the only other municipality believed to be using condominium development to add desperately needed housing for low-income people. It recently secured seven affordable rental units in three condo developments.
"If we had done this when 100,000 (condo) budget rental car upgrade coupons units were being built and if 1 per cent were developed like this, we would have had thousands of units of truly affordable housing at no cost to anybody," she says.
Lifetime Developments includes a floor of rent-controlled apartments for hotel workers in its 41-storey budget rental car upgrade coupons hotel-condo project under construction on the old Second City site. It will include five three-bedroom units for families and two studio apartments for singles. Expected occupancy: 2016
Diamond Corp.'s 25-storey building near the Ontario College of Art includes four affordable budget rental car upgrade coupons ownership and one affordable rental unit owned and managed by Artscape for artists. Expected occupancy: Summer 2015