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<\/p>\nStanding outside the recently completed Don Summerville complex,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0hard to tell where the affordable units\u00a0end\u00a0and the market\u00a0condos\u00a0begin. And\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0the point.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Led by Context Development and\u00a0RioCan\u00a0Living in partnership with Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) and the City of Toronto, the eye-catching redevelopment one block west of Queen Street\u00a0East and Coxwell Avenue\u00a0replaces two aging social-housing blocks with 770 new homes, along with retail space and a public green square.\u00a0Roughly one-third\u00a0of the units are affordable, with another 120 reserved for subsidized tenants.\u00a0The rest\u00a0are\u00a0market rentals and\u00a0condos, including 50 units set aside for women and families, and a\u00a0portion\u00a0for artists.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a city grappling with affordability, this\u00a0project offers a glimpse of\u00a0how\u00a0income diversity\u00a0can be\u00a0built into\u00a0a project\u2019s\u00a0design and governance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to TCHC CEO Sean Baird, the logic behind mixed-income housing is both financial and social. \u201cA development that combines affordable, market-rate and ownership housing is simply more sustainable,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt spreads costs, attracts better financing\u00a0and allows for long-term reinvestment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen households with different incomes live side-by-side, you avoid stacking vulnerabilities on top of one another,\u201d Bard\u00a0adds,\u00a0explaining\u00a0that this results in safer, more stable\u00a0neighbourhoods\u00a0where residents are more likely to participate in local programs, attend community events\u00a0and look out for one another.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baird points to lessons learned from earlier redevelopments such as Regent Park and Alexandra Park, where replacing isolated social-housing blocks with mixed-tenure communities dramatically improved health,\u00a0safety\u00a0and employment outcomes. \u201cThe old model simply wasn\u2019t sustainable,\u201d he says. \u201cThis one is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Context Development principal Howard Cohen, the economics of Don Summerville required careful choreography. \u201cWe built the new TCHC building instead of paying for the land,\u201d he says, describing the deal structure that allowed public land to stay in public ownership while still\u00a0leveraging\u00a0its value. \u201cIt\u2019s an integrated model that can absolutely work elsewhere as long as the city remains an active partner.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The project\u2019s management teams also prioritize collaboration by organizing joint programming and encouraging retail tenants to hire locally. \u201cIf a TCHC resident ends up working at the caf\u00e9 or grocery store downstairs, that\u2019s real integration,\u201d Cohen says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Don Summerville\u2019s incorporation of affordable rental and co-op units into its main \u201cmarket\u201d building means residents share the same lobby,\u00a0gym\u00a0and community rooms. This\u00a0provides\u00a0a prime example of the community integration that Torontonians uniquely embrace, Cohen adds. \u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0never seen resistance to people buying\u00a0condos\u00a0next to public housing. That social acceptance makes the model possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Roughly a third of the units at Don Summerville will be affordable, with another 120 reserved for subsidized tenants. The rest are market rentals and condos, including 50 units set aside for women and families, and a portion for artists.<\/p>\n
Urban-planning professor Matti\u00a0Siemiatycki\u00a0of the University of Toronto\u00a0likens\u00a0projects like Don Summerville to \u201csolving a Rubik\u2019s Cube\u201d of public and private interests. Each side \u2014 landowners, developers, government, residents \u2014 has its own priorities\u00a0and aligning them takes time and effort.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But when it works, the results can redefine a\u00a0neighbourhood. \u201cWhat stands out here is the design sensitivity,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are no \u2018poor doors,\u2019 no hidden entrances, no visual cues that separate one group from another.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Attention to aesthetics matters just as much as the balance sheet, he adds. \u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0in a housing crisis, so\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0easy to dismiss those details as superficial. But the look and feel of a building communicate value. They tell residents that this is a place that matters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Indeed, Don Summerville\u2019s beach-inspired palette blends naturally with the Queen East streetscape and nearby Lake Ontario waterfront. The architecture\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0advertise affordability;\u00a0it normalizes it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mixed-income projects also bring vitality to surrounding areas. By adding density in established\u00a0neighbourhoods\u00a0close to schools,\u00a0shops\u00a0and transit, they help sustain local businesses and public amenities that rely on steady visitation and usage. \u201cCities thrive when people of different backgrounds share public space,\u201d\u00a0Siemiatycki\u00a0says. \u201cThese developments contribute to that by keeping main streets busy, playgrounds full and libraries well used.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At Don Summerville, residents are steps from the Martin Goodman Trail and a short streetcar ride from downtown. \u201cWhen affordable housing is built in desirable areas\u00a0instead of pushed to the margins, you\u2019re creating complete communities,\u201d he adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the\u00a0condo\u00a0market struggling,\u00a0developers are increasingly open to partnerships that combine public funding and\u00a0private\u00a0expertise. \u201cA few years ago, developers didn\u2019t need to collaborate because\u00a0everything they built sold instantly,\u201d\u00a0Siemiatycki\u00a0notes. \u201cNow, mixed-income projects\u00a0help keep crews working and sites active.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baird\u00a0sees\u00a0it\u00a0as\u00a0a rare alignment of market conditions\u00a0and political will. \u201cFor the first time in a long time, all three levels of government recognize that they\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0solve the housing crisis alone. Projects like Don Summerville show that collaboration works and that it can be replicated.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Similar redevelopments are planned or underway in Lawrence Heights, Alexandra\u00a0Park\u00a0and Eglinton West, with dozens more in pre-planning. Many involve replacing under-used midrise sites with denser, energy-efficient buildings that blend rent-geared-to-income, affordable and market units.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cohen believes the model\u2019s long-term success hinges on\u00a0maintaining\u00a0that balance. \u201cIf the mix is right, these communities flourish. They become places people want to live regardless of tenure or income.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Baird, every completed project adds momentum. \u201cEach one that opens and works \u2014 that feels like a real part of the city \u2014 makes the next easier to achieve.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately,\u201d\u00a0Siemiatycki\u00a0says, \u201cthis\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0just about housing.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0about reimagining what a\u00a0neighbourhood\u00a0can be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Standing outside the recently completed Don Summerville complex,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0hard to tell where the affordable units\u00a0end\u00a0and the market\u00a0condos\u00a0begin. And\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0the point.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[27174,49,48,232477,232474,232476,232478,232475,17336,3302],"class_list":{"0":"post-619049","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto","8":"tag-affordable-housing","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-context-development","12":"tag-don-summerville","13":"tag-howard-cohen","14":"tag-queen-street-east","15":"tag-sean-baird","16":"tag-social-housing","17":"tag-toronto"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}