Affordable Housing Complex Benefits from Renovation Funding in Toronto
Posted by: Toronto Real Estate Admin / Category: News Bulletin
TORONTO, ON, May 24, 2013 — The governments of Canada and Ontario celebrated today the renovation of two rental housing buildings for low-income families, located at 1765 and 1775 Weston Road, in Toronto.
Ted Opitz, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); Laura Albanese, Member of Provincial Parliament for York South-Weston, on behalf of the Honourable Linda Jeffrey, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; Frances Nunziata, City of Toronto Councillor (Ward 11, York South-Weston) made the announcement today.
“Repairing rental properties not only helps to build strong and healthy communities but most importantly, it improves the quality of life for residents,” said MP Opitz. “Our Government remains focused on four priorities, as outlined by the Prime Minister, that Canadians care most about: their families, the safety of our streets and communities, their pride in being a citizen of this country, and of course, their personal financial security.”
“With the renovation of this rental housing complex in Toronto, residents now have access to more stable, safe and affordable homes”, said MPP Albanese. “Our Government is proud to invest in affordable housing in Toronto to help improve the quality of life for people in need of a hand up while also creating jobs and stimulating the economy.”
“I want to congratulate Roslyn Brown and her team for the great work they’ve done repairing and reviving rental units in my community,” said Councillor Nunziata. “This is a great success story thanks to a strong partnership between the federal and provincial governments, a private landlord and the City of Toronto.”
The $1.8 million investment provided by the federal and provincial governments has been used to renovate 17 units affected by water damage. As well, overall improvements to the buildings include new energy-efficient boiler systems, new elevators and new roofs. This funding comes from the $481 million Investment in Affordable Housing 2011 – 2014 Agreement between the Governments of Canada and Ontario.
“The newly installed elevators provide our tenants with a safe and dependable way to get where they’re going,” said Roslyn Brown, Vice President at Weston Property Management. “With funding also going towards energy-efficient heating, we can pass on these cost-saving measures to our tenants and redirect money to improving building services and common areas.”
The Government of Canada, through CMHC, will invest approximately $2 billion in housing this year. Of this amount, $1.7 billion will be spent in support of close to 594,000 households living in existing social housing. In Ontario, this represents an estimated 237,950 households. These investments are improving the quality of life for low-income Canadians and households living in existing social housing, including individuals who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness, seniors and persons with disabilities, recent immigrants and Aboriginal people.
Ontario continues to build new affordable housing and repair existing units for Ontarians with housing needs. Since 2003, Ontario’s funding commitment of nearly $3 billion is the largest affordable housing program in the province’s history. Ontario is supporting the creation of over 17,000 affordable rental housing units; making more than 263,000 repairs and improvements to social and affordable housing units; and providing rental down payment assistance to over 81,000 households in need. The province’s Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy sets a strong foundation for a more efficient, accessible affordable housing system in Ontario.
Affordable housing is a key component of Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. To find out more about affordable housing in Ontario, visit www.ontario.ca/housing. For more information about affordable housing in Toronto, visit www.toronto.ca/affordablehousing.
To find out more about how the Government of Canada and CMHC are working to build stronger homes and communities for all Canadians, call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642.
Media contacts:
Dean D’Souza
CMHC
416-250-2760
Jan O’Driscoll
Office of Minister Finley
819-994-2482
Yanni Dagonas
Office of Minister Jeffrey
416-585-6853
Gil Hardy
City of Toronto
416-397-4701
For more information visit:
www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca
www.ontario.ca/housing
www.toronto.ca/affordablehousing
Article source: http://www.cmhc.ca/en/corp/nero/nere/2013/2013-05-24-1000.cfm
Tags: Toronto House, Toronto Housing, Toronto Realtor