- What Missanabie Cree First Nation and EllisDon Community Builders have filed plans for a 29-storey rental tower near the Davisville subway station
- Why The project is part of the City of Toronto’s Housing Now initiative
- What next The development plans will make their way through the Toronto City Council for approval
The City of Toronto is moving forward on another Housing Now rental development, aiming to bring 294 units to midtown.
A site plan for a 29-storey tower at 140 Merton Street, just west of the Davisville subway station, was submitted to the city in late May and is awaiting approval from the city council.
The Missanabie Cree First Nation was selected to develop the city-owned site, with the housing built there to be dedicated to Indigenous elders and other seniors. Of the 294 one- and two-bedroom units planned for the site, roughly one-third will be affordable.
EllisDon Community Builders, an affordable-housing development provider backed by EllisDon Capital, has partnered on the project. EllisDon Community Builders will head up all pre-development work, with EllisDon Construction then constructing the building.
“To combine Missanabie’s vision and purpose of building a great place to live for the community, and EllisDon’s national expertise and experience in developing and building vital community assets is a fantastic way to advance the City of Toronto’s commitment to sustainable community building,” Nicholas Gefucia, senior vice president of EllisDon Community Builders, told Green Street News.
The Merton Street site currently houses a parking lot and a heritage-designated office building, a portion of which will be retained in the new project. SPRINT Senior Care, a community agency helping seniors age in place, occupies the office space. The organization will be relocated temporarily during construction and ultimately moved back into 140 Merton Street.
The project also is slated to have a ceremonial space, a smudging room, and indoor and outdoor amenity spaces.
“140 Merton Street is part of the city-wide Housing Now initiative which leverages surplus City-owned lands to accelerate the development of affordable housing within mixed-income, mixed-use and transit-oriented communities,” James Wattie, a spokesperson for CreateTO, told Green Street News.
“In this case, 140 Merton Street is within walking distance of Davisville Subway Station, and its development supports the ‘complete communities’ vision established through the ‘Midtown in Focus’ Secondary Plan.”
The various groups working together on this project is a key component of bringing it to fruition, Gefucia added.
“The different partnerships on this project are very important as each party is supporting Missanabie Cree in the development of Indigenous-focused affordable rental housing,” he said. “The city is providing financial support, dedicated planning staff to expedite approvals and the land for the development. [EllisDon Community Builders] is supporting the First Nation through all the project’s zoning, the site plan application, the design development, project financing and construction.”
Once the project is complete, Missanabie Cree First Nation will own and operate the building, with the city providing the land on a 99-year lease.
Housing Now’s vision
The project supports the city’s goal of developing 65,000 rent-controlled homes, including 47,500 affordable rentals.
“With Toronto facing an unprecedented housing crisis, there is a critical need for purpose-built affordable rental buildings,” city councillor Josh Matlow, whose ward will be home to the development, told Green Street News.
The Housing Now program has seen the city partner with private and not-for-profit housing developers to get new rental homes built.
“Our private and non-profit partners are integral to reaching these targets,” Wattie said. “Many of our projects would not be viable without their support and we encourage others to join in our mission of better city-building by engaging with future developments and projects, including future phases of the Housing Now initiative.”
In a similar vein, Matlow said the city “must continue to take all available action to increase the construction of affordable rental units.” From the developer side, Gefucia noted that the city “has shown great leadership in finding ways to collaborate with private and non-profit developers and operators.”
Housing Now, announced in 2019, took four years to see any movement on its first project, which broke ground in June 2023, earning it the nickname “Housing Later” among many in the industry. Since the initial groundbreaking, the program appears to be moving along steadily, with big names like KingSett Capital, Tridel, Kilmer-Tricon, Greenwin and Windmill attached to various projects.
In total, 22 city-owned sites have been identified for development, with an estimated 16,000 units expected to be built.
