Officials from the City of Toronto, including Mayor Olivia Chow, celebrated the start of construction of more than 700 new rental homes earlier this week.

The city awarded the contract to develop 5207 Dundas Street West to the Kilmer Group and Tricon Residential. The project is being developed as part of the Housing Now Initiative, which aims to stimulate the development of affordable rental housing within transit-oriented, mixed-income, mixed-use and complete communities.

“Building more affordable housing is critical to creating a city that’s accessible and inclusive to everyone,” said Chow. “The city is committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing so that people of all different income levels and occupations can afford to live here. The Housing Now program is a great example of how strong partnerships between multiple levels of government, the private sector, the non-profit sector and the local community can help us build the housing we need.”

The site will deliver 725 residential homes, including 30 percent affordable rental homes, 218 units, and 507 market rental homes. Rents for affordable homes will range from 40 percent to 100 percent of the average market rent. This means that the homes will be affordable to a range of households, including those in need of deeply affordable rental housing.

The development will include a mix of unit types from one-bedroom to four-bedrooms. It will also include retail uses providing amenities and services to support residents’ needs and public spaces for community gatherings and events. In addition, the development will support the City’s climate action objectives and target Toronto Green Standard Version 3, Tier 3, with zero carbon certification.

“We are incredibly proud to partner with the City of Toronto to increase the supply of rental housing in North America’s fastest growing city and, in doing so, add much-needed affordable units within this complete community,” said Andrew Joyner, Managing Director, Tricon Residential. “The Kilmer-Tricon Partnership has a demonstrated track record of partnering with all three levels of government to deliver innovative large, scale mixed-income rental communities that strengthen the fabric of our City, and 5207 Dundas will make a positive and lasting impact on the heart of Etobicoke for generations to come.”

The city has invested $77 million to decommission the former Six-Points Interchange, also known as the ‘Spaghetti Junction’ in Etobicoke. Six-Points was replaced by a new network of streets, unlocking almost 18 acres of land and creating seven blocks for redevelopment.

The 5207 Dundas Street West development is one of five blocks identified for additional rental housing development through Housing Now. Other blocks include the proposed Etobicoke Civic Centre location, a new Toronto Public Library branch, and new city parks.

The five development blocks will include at least 2,781 residential homes, 904 of which will be affordable rental homes.

Since Housing Now was approved in January 2019, Toronto’s city council has allocated 21 prime transit-oriented sites. To date, 10 of these sites have been re-zoned and market offerings have been completed for six of them. Construction at two other shovel-ready sites, 50 Wilson Heights Blvd. and 140 Merton St., is expected to begin before the end of this year.

Overall, Housing Now aims to deliver 10,000 affordable rental homes within mixed-income, mixed-use and complete communities by 2030.

To date, the city has committed more than $1.3 billion in land value, capital funding and financial incentives to the program, making Housing Now one of the most significant municipal financial investments in housing underway today.