220 New Mixed Affordable & Supportive Rental Homes Opened In Scarborough
Birchmount Green Will Be A Broad Integrated Community And Accommodating A Variety Of Tenants
TORONTO: Mayor Olivia Chow has announced the opening of 220 new mixed affordable and supportive rental homes at Birchmount Green, a development by Birchmount Green, Inc., for lowand moderate-income households at 1236 Birchmount Rd.
Mayor Chow was joined by Salma Zahid, Member of Parliament for Scarborough Centre; Councillor Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre); Tim Neeb, President, Birchmount Green, Inc. and community partner leaders.
Tenants at Birchmount Green are selected through a combination of not-for-profit referral partners, which match tenants to 98 of the homes that provide a range of supports. Of these, 88 units are rent-geared-to-income with rents not exceeding 30 per cent of a household’s income.10 are average market rent (AMR) which is defined annually by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Rents for the remaining 122 homes will not exceed 100 per cent of AMR. All the homes are at or below AMR making them affordable for a range of low- to moderate-income households.
Designed to be an integrated community, with a broad community and accommodating for a variety of tenants, the building features:
• 45 accessible homes
• A large amenity room with access to outdoor greenery and barbecues
• An accessible rooftop garden, a library, indoor and outdoor children’s play areas and bicycle storage
• Offices for support service organizations
• An on-site coffee shop, “The Social Brew, Café, and Marketplace,” a social enterprise managed by Community Living Toronto and Corbrook Awakening Abilities and will be staffed by adults living with a disability. It will also serve as a location for barista training, offered by Community Living Toronto.
The City of Toronto is working with six not-for-profit referral partners at Birchmount Green including:
• Bellwoods Community Living Centres
• Community Living Toronto
• Fred Victor Centre
• LOFT Community Service
• The Redwood
• WoodGreen
Housing
Community
HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan
These new homes are a step towards achieving the City’s HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan (HousingTO Action Plan) goals, including 65,000 new rentcontrolled home approvals across the city over 10 years, of which at least 6,500 will be new rentgeared-to-income homes and 18,000 supportive homes with a focus on helping people exit homelessness.
Birchmount Green was supported by the City of Toronto’s Open Door program which provides capital funding and incentives in addition to federal funding. The City’s Open Door program offers capital funding and/or financial incentives to support non-profit and private sector housing developers to create new affordable rental housing