Advancing the Construction of Affordable Rental Homes at 777 Victoria Park Avenue

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The decision

2024-07-24 · Toronto City Council · adopted

As filed

City Council on July 24 and 25, 2024, adopted the following: 1. City Council adopt the instructions to staff as set out in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 26, 2024) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, for the site at 777 Victoria Park Avenue. 2. City Council request the Deputy City Manager, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, and the Board of Directors of CreateTO to direct the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO, to secure options for off-site paid Green P public parking, with a minimum of 50 spots, that could be made available within the surrounding area to offset the loss of the existing commuter parking due to the development of affordable housing at 777 Victoria Park Avenue.

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3. City Council request the Board of Directors of CreateTO to direct the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO, to ensure private operator parking is aligned with the above Green P parking rates and to explore additional parking solutions that are above grade. 4. City Council direct the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, in consultation with the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO, to identify opportunities to make a portion of the parking at 781 Victoria Park Avenue, Dentonia Park Golf Course, available for Victoria Park Station commuter use, having consideration for the impacts on Golf Course Operations and other parks operational requirements, and report to the Planning and Housing Committee at its meeting on September 26, 2024 with updates. 5. City Council direct that Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 26, 2024) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat remain confidential in its entirety as it outlines a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the City and contains financial information, supplied in confidence to the City of Toronto and CreateTO, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization. 6. City Council direct the information contained in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 5, 2024) from the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO remain confidential in its entirety, as it deals with a pending disposition of land by the City of Toronto. Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 26, 2024) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat remains confidential in its entirety in accordance with the provisions of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, as it outlines a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the City; and contains financial information, supplied in confidence to the City of Toronto and CreateTO, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization. Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 5, 2024) from the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO remains confidential in its entirety in accordance with the provisions of the City of Toronto Act, 2006, as it deals with a pending disposition of land by the City of Toronto.

The vote

Adopt Item · Carried, 19-1

For (19)Alejandra Bravo, Amber Morley, Anthony Perruzza, Chris Moise, Dianne Saxe, Frances Nunziata, Gord Perks, Jamaal Myers, James Pasternak, Jon Burnside, Josh Matlow, Lily Cheng, Mike Colle, Nick Mantas, Olivia Chow, Parthi Kandavel, Paul Ainslie, Paula Fletcher, Shelley Carroll

Against (1)Stephen Holyday

Absent (5)Ausma Malik, Brad Bradford, Jennifer McKelvie, Michael Thompson, Vincent Crisanti

The whole record, all 25 members

Every name opens that member’s record.

On the agenda

As the city filed it

The Housing Now Initiative is a signature affordable housing program in Toronto and across Canada. It is also a key housing supply program to support the City's HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan, Housing Action Plan 2022-2026, and City of Toronto's Generational Transformation of Toronto's Housing System to Urgently Build More Affordable Homes report. Through the Housing Now Initiative, City-owned lands are leveraged for the purpose of creating new mixed-use, mixed-income communities with maximized affordable housing outcomes.

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To-date, the City has identified 22 sites and committed substantial land value, capital funding and financial incentives to the program, making it one of the most significant municipal financial investments in housing underway today. There are also 4 additional pipeline sites that have been identified for pr-development due-diligence. The site at 777 Victoria Park Avenue was among the original sites included in the program. Like many of the Housing Now Sites, 777 Victoria Park Avenue experienced project slow downs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, unprecedented escalation in construction costs, changes to federal and provincial housing policy, and steep increases in interest rates. As an example, construction costs have increased by over 63% (more than 20% year-over-year) since 2019, making Toronto the most expensive city in Canada to build high-rise residential. Recently, however, shifts in Toronto's residential market, stable interest rates, and the introduction of new inter-governmental program and policy changes have resulted in a window of opportunity for the delivery of purpose built and affordable rental homes. The 777 Victoria Park site will include a range of rental homes, retail and community space at grade and a new purpose-built childcare facility. Importantly the land will remain in public ownership in perpetuity. Subject to Committee of Adjustment approval, the site will deliver 705 rental homes including: 256 new affordable rental homes (rents at average of 80% City of Toronto's average market rent) 449 new rent-controlled market homes (with annual rent increases limited at Provincial guideline+2%). Similar to the Housing Now Initiative - 2023 Progress Update (April 13, 2023), this report makes a number of recommendations to City Council to help 'unstick' the Housing Now project at 777 Victoria Park Avenue to quickly realize a significant amount of new affordable rental homes.

Staff recommended

The Executive Director, Housing Secretariat recommends: 1. City Council adopt the instructions to staff as set out in Confidential Attachment 1, for the site at 777 Victoria Park Avenue. 2. City Council direct that Confidential Attachment 1 to the report from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat remain confidential in its entirety as it: outlines a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied

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to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the City; and contains financial information, supplied in confidence to the City of Toronto and CreateTO, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization.

Considered

2024-07-11 · Planning and Housing Committee · amended
Decision as filed
The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that: 1. City Council adopt the instructions to staff as set out in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 26, 2024) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, for the site at 777 Victoria Park Avenue. 2. City Council direct that Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 26, 2024) from the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, remain confidential in its
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entirety as it: outlines a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the City; and contains financial information, supplied in confidence to the City of Toronto and CreateTO, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization. 3. City Council direct the information contained in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (June 5, 2024) from the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO remain confidential in its entirety, as it deals with a pending disposition of land by the City of Toronto. 4. City Council request the Deputy City Manager, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, and the Board of Directors of CreateTO to direct the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO, to secure options for off-site paid Green P public parking, with a minimum of 50 spots, that could be made available within the surrounding area to offset the loss of the existing commuter parking due to the development of affordable housing at 777 Victoria Park Avenue. 5. City Council request the Board of Directors of CreateTO to direct the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO, to ensure private operator parking is aligned with the above Green P parking rates; and to explore additional parking solutions that are above grade. 6. City Council direct the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, in consultation with the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, and Chief Executive Office, CreateTO, to identify opportunities to make a portion of the parking at 781 Victoria Park Avenue, Dentonia Park Golf Course, available for Victoria Park Station commuter use, having consideration for the impacts on Golf Course Operations and other parks operational requirements, and report to the Planning and Housing Committee at its meeting on September 26, 2024 with updates.
2024-07-24 · Toronto City Council · adopted

On the record

The item as the City filed it

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