'We have a housing crisis': York Region breaks ground on 97-unit affordable housing apartment in Stouffville

There will be 65 one-bedroom units, 26 two-bedroom units and six three-bedroom units, with 70 per cent being affordable rentals

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 22, 2022
Simon Martin

As housing prices increase to unaffordable rates for more and more people, there is a little relief on its way in Stouffville. Earlier this month, representatives from the federal, provincial, regional and municipal governments broke ground on the Housing York Project at 5676 Main St. just east of Metro.

The six-storey building will be a mix of 97 affordable and market rent units. There will be 65 one-bedroom units, 26 two-bedroom units and six three-bedroom units, with 70 per cent being affordable rentals.

“This is a big project, a big project that is much needed here in this community,” Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark said. “It doesn’t go unnoticed to me that our friends at the region have already, like, within seconds of moving on the site, made sure that I realized that we’re celebrating Phase 1 and that there is a Phase 2.”

The total budget for the building is $44 million, with $11.2 million coming from the federal and provincial governments. The building is scheduled to open in 2024, and a Phase 2 planned at the site in the future.

Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Iain Lovatt said he didn’t really know what he was getting into when he joined the board of Housing York Inc. as vice-chair, but said it has been very rewarding work. “Moving projects like this forward across the region is so important,” he said. “In 2024, when we’re actually cutting the ribbon and opening the doors to this place, it’s going to be an emotional moment because there are people in our community and in the region that right now are really, really struggling.”

People like Kevin Stromberg, who was recently evicted from his apartment at 465 Rupert Ave. Stromberg is staying with friends or sleeping in his car as he tries to find a new home. “It's completely asinine that nobody wants to get into the rental market anymore and if they do, then they have the price so high no one can afford it,” he said.

The town currently has two community rental housing projects, and Lovatt said that according to the census, 40 per cent of renters in Stouffville spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing. “Addressing housing affordability requires collective action that supports private and public sectors working together to develop innovative solutions.”

“We need all three levels of government working together like they are on this project, if we are going to make sure everyone has a safe, secure place to go,” Markham-Stouffville MPP Paul Calandra said. “We’re building more homes, but we also want to invite people in this community who might not be able to afford that first home.”

Newmarket Mayor and chair of Housing York Inc. John Taylor said getting buildings like this built is of the utmost importance to deal with one of the greatest challenges facing all levels of governments.

“In the last decade, roughly speaking, the average wage has gone up 20 per cent; the average house price in that same decade has gone up 150 per cent,” he said. “Those two numbers alone tell you what our regional council recognizes: that we have a housing crisis.”

The average new house is well over 1.2 million, Taylor said. And while Housing York Inc. houses about 200 to 300 applicants a year, there is a growing wait-list of 16,000.

“We know we are getting behind," he said. "We are working on turning that curve.”

Taylor said the region is seeing building activity across the region, including transitional housing and not-for-profit housing.

“We’re going to make some meaningful change for people in our communities,” he said. “We want to provide housing for everyone -- not just some people, not just the ones that can afford it, for everybody.”

Every time Housing York Inc. opens a facility, they are not only providing affordable housing, they are also providing market rent units.

“People forget that, but it’s so crucial,” Taylor said. “We need market rental housing.”