Affordable housing projects in jeopardy, Hamilton non-profits say

Hamilton non-profit housing providers warn scores of affordable units they hope to build are in jeopardy if they don't get a break on city fees.

That includes a 266-unit project for the Mountain on the verge of folding without an exemption for development charges worth $8.3 million.

It's breaking my heart. We've been at this for over two years," said Lori-Anne Gagne, chief executive officer of Victoria Park Community Homes.

Victoria Park and Hamilton East Kiwanis Non-Profit Homes Inc. are partners in the $133.6-million project at 60 Caledon Ave., the site of a demolished high school.

Gagne says the city has told the Caledon Community Collaborative its project doesn't qualify for waived development charges under a new bylaw if it secures federal funding.

But in turn, without that municipal backing, its application for co-investment funding through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is also compromised, she notes.

The CMHC is considering pulling" the application because the collaborative can't confirm city funding.

There must be a co-investment and it must be enough to make the project viable," Gagne said.

This bylaw glitch" also affects a host of other affordable housing projects that depend on development-charge breaks, she noted.

Victoria Park, Kiwanis and Indwell are members of a coalition of non-profits called Hamilton is Home that has aimed to build 3,000 units in three years.

This is a question that's looming for all of our future projects," Graham Cubitt, director of projects and development with Indwell, said of the bylaw issue.

The issue boils down to a 2019 bylaw change that did away with blanket" development-charge exemptions for affordable housing, Coun. John-Paul Danko noted.

But a replacement policy has yet to be finalized, and a site-specific exemption for 60 Caledon isn't possible, the central Mountain councillor said.

We have to apply the same rules to everybody, so it's a fairly big hurdle."

The co-investment fund, meanwhile, has become a backbone program" of the federal housing strategy, which requires applicants to have municipal contributions lined up, Cubitt said.

We just need the commitment. We just get stuck in that limbo of not being able to apply for funds."

Finance staff say they plan to discuss 60 Caledon Ave.'s development charges with housing division colleagues.

For its part, Hamilton is Home welcomes further talks" with the city, Tricia Lewis, director of operations with Kiwanis, told The Spectator in an email.

Coalition representatives plan to address councillors about the development-charge issue during a public meeting Thursday.

At 60 Caledon Ave., much hangs in the balance.

In 2020, Victoria Park and Kiwanis teamed up to buy the seven-acre former high school site from the city with the help of a $5-million forgivable municipal loan.

Since then, the partners have sought community feedback and worked with city staff on development, which councillors praised and approved for rezoning Tuesday.

The project - between West 5 and Upper James just south of Mohawk - calls for 266 units in two, six-storey apartment blocks and five, three-storey townhouse buildings.

The collaborative is in talks with the city to provide rent-geared-to-income units in the future complex, Gagne says.

But for now, the plan calls for 84 units at 80 per cent average market rent, while 182 are to be in the range of 80 to 125 per cent.

At 80 per cent, a one-bedroom unit would rent for $884, which is considerably less than the city average of $1,603, according to Rental.ca's latest national report.

The working poor in Hamilton can't afford the city's skyrocketing rents," Gagne said. So I think it's an enormously beneficial project to our community."

The project has benefited from roughly $2 million in waived parkland fees, but hinges on roughly $20 million in federal assistance.

And even with the $8.3-million exemption, the Caledon Community Collaborative would still contribute $97.7 million to the development, Gagne notes.

The funding gap also comes at a time of rising interest rates and construction costs, making a prompt resolution all the more crucial, she says. We're being squeezed."

Danko says the 60 Caledon Ave. redevelopment is very, very badly needed" amid Hamilton's affordability crunch.

Other forms of financial relief, such as a grant, might be possible to keep it alive.

I think we need to do everything that we can to make sure that that project moves forward."

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com