Transformation of Don Summerville community into mix of housing units celebrated by city, federal officials
By MATTHEW STEPHENS
Following a five-year revitalization plan to transform a section of Eastern Avenue into mixed-income, mixed-tenure housing – officials gathered on the west side of Coxwell Avenue area to announce the opening of 770 new homes in the reimagined Don Summerville community.
“With partners Context and Rio Can Living, we’ve put condos, rentals, affordable rentals, and not only that, but co-op. Co-op is coming to this neighbourhood for the first time in a long time,” said Toronto-Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher at the Oct. 1 ribbon cutting for the buildings that front both Queen Street East and Eastern Avenue just west of Coxwell Avenue. The project is identified as having addresses of 1555 Queen St. E. and 1070 Eastern Ave.
Fletcher was joined by Mayor Olivia Chow, Toronto-Danforth MP and Minister of Environment and Climate Change Julie Dabrusin, as well as Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) CEO Sean Baird and partners Context Development and RioCan, to unveil the new housing units.
Baird said the project facilitated by TCHC is reshaping the way housing is being built in the city.
“Gone are the days where we put up a single building, and its all social housing in one place, and perhaps set aside from the rest of the community,” said Baird at the Oct. 1 celebration.
“Now, we’re building community housing alongside market rentals, alongside co-operatives, alongside non-profit affordable rentals as well. All these units and all these households are co-existing in the same place.”
The revitalization project used the 3.3-acre plot of land to replace 120 rent-geared-to-income Toronto Community Housing units, with an additional 100 affordable rental units, 183 market rental units, 367 condo units, and 16,600 square feet of retail space.
Among the market rental and condo buildings, 82 affordable homes will be provided, including 50 affordable homes expected to house women and their families through a partnership between the developer and local community agencies, as well as 32 co-operative homes, including 17 RGI and 15 affordable homes, with some units allocated specifically for artists.
The site will also include a Privately Owned Public Space which will be available for public use.
Fletcher said it was important to supply housing that can support “every type of income.”
According to Chow, development regulations have been reworked in recent years to cut costs and allow for more density across the city.
“We are making it easier to build all kinds of homes. Over the last few years, nearly 90 per cent of the city has been rezoned to permit more housing,” said Chow. “We’re getting shovels in the ground by cutting over $300 million in development charges and taxes so we can build 8,000 purpose-built homes, 20 per cent of them affordable.”
At the Oct. 1 event, Dabrusin said the Don Summerville community was a good example of the federal and municipal government working together.
“This is a good example of how the federal government is a really good partner with our city,” said Dabrusin. “The city is a really good partner with us in making sure that we build a strong city.”
In 2023, the project received federal support in the amount of $126 million through the Rental Construction Financing Initiative (RCFI). The federal initiative provided $1.2 billion to build 2,644 rental homes across seven projects in Toronto, provided as fully repayable low-interest loans, and was announced in November of 2023.
TCHC Chief Development Officer Yves Cheung said federal funding helps to secure housing deals without requiring “upfront capital.”
“Financing from the Rental Construction Financing Initiative supported the overall redevelopment being delivered by our developer partners, RioCan and Context. Through this arrangement, TCHC contributed land as equity and, in return, our partners built the replacement TCHC homes at their cost.” said Cheung.
“This structure allows TCHC to secure new, modern homes for our tenants without requiring upfront capital. More broadly, we believe that sustainable funding for affordable housing requires contributions from all three levels of government alongside non-profit and private partners.”
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the Rental Construction Financing Initiative (now known as the Apartment Construction Loan Program) aims to increase rental housing supply by offering low-cost, fully repayable loans to builders and other agency borrowers during the “riskiest” phases of development.
“In this case, the borrower receiving financing is RioCan Living and Don Summerville Ltd. Partnership,” said CMHC in a statement to Beach Metro Community News.
“The project at 1555 Queen Street East is a redevelopment that received $126 million in fully repayable, low-interest loans to build at least 233 new rental units as part of a broader redevelopment on the site which includes non-market and market rental units, condominiums, and commercial space,” said the CMHC statement.
Dabrusin said a new federal agency known as Build Canada Homes is working to “create opportunities for building affordable housing at scale” and to “build transitional and supportive housing and deeply affordable community housing” across the city.
