York Region is building a new six-storey apartment building at 5676 Main Street in the town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. Construction has started and completion is expected in the spring of 2024.
The building will contain:
- 97 residential units
- Ground floor non-residential space
- A mix of one, two, and three-bedroom rental apartments for seniors, families, couples and individuals
- Indoor amenity space
- Rooftop patio area
- Surface parking
York Region states that the development is owned by York Region's housing corporation, Housing York Inc., and will be environmentally sustainable and designed to a LEED Gold standard for improved energy and resource efficiency.
The 3.7 acre site is located in downtown Stouffville close to transit, retail, dining, places of employment and health services. The new apartment building will be the first development on the property with potential for an additional development in the future. A full landscape plan including new trees and plants is also proposed for the development area.
Yahoo!Life reports that through the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI) and Investment in Affordable Housing-Extension (IAH-E) programs funded by the federal and provincial governments, the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario have invested nearly $4.8 million and $6.4 million to support the creation of nearly 100 homes for families, individuals and seniors living in Stouffville.
Ontario Planners states that the provincial government defines affordable housing as the least expensive of (1) a unit for which the rent does not exceed 30% of gross annual household income for low-and moderate-income households or (2) a unit for which the rent is at or below the average market rent of a unit in the regional market area. The federal government concurs with housing costing less than 30% of a household's gross income to be defined as "affordable." For example, the average two bedroom apartment in Toronto rents for $2,531 per month as of November 2020 (rentals.ca), which means the people occupying that two-bedroom apartment would need to earn a combined income of over $100,000 for it to be labeled "affordable housing." That is why specialty mixed-income and affordable housing units and rental processes are developed to create an affordable housing model.
According to News Ontario, the Province has provided over $1.2 billion through the Social Services Relief Fund, to help municipal service managers and Indigenous program administrators create longer-term housing solutions and help vulnerable Ontarians, including those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This is one of the biggest investments made in affordable housing and homelessness supports in the province's history. The Regional Municipality of York has been allocated over $50 million through this fund.
