Options for Homes, one of Canada’s largest non-profit housing developers, has begun construction on The Cedars, a 783-unit master-planned community in Scarborough. The first phase includes a co-operative rental building with 245 units offered at below-market rates and under rent control.
According to key stakeholders, the project aims to create the kind of mixed-income, mixed-tenure housing Toronto urgently needs. It was fast-tracked through partnerships with the City of Toronto, including the Housing Secretariat and CreateTO. It also benefited from recent provincial legislative changes that support and incentivize non-profit housing development.
“We are building The Cedars for the broad range of Torontonians who have been priced out of the housing market,” said Options for Homes CEO Daniel Ger at the ground-breaking event. “The people who live in our communities are working families who need good, stable housing in neighbourhoods that allow them to grow and flourish. We are excited to be building a community that has both co-op rental and attainable homeownership options. The Cedars will help fill a big gap in the housing market.”
“We’re bringing co-ops back,” added Mayor Olivia Chow. “The City waived fees and taxes and fast-tracked approvals and permits to get shovels in the ground to build The Cedars, Toronto’s first major co-op in nearly 30 years. Together with Options for Homes, we are turning a once-vacant City-owned site into a vibrant, mixed-income co-operative where people can build a home and future.”
Construction on the co-op rental tower is expected to be complete in 2028.
A form of housing that is run by residents (or co-op members), the co-op model is designed to provide residents with stable, long-term affordable housing by ensuring rents are based on the actual cost to operate and maintain the building without the need to return a profit.
Located near Markham Road and Eglinton Avenue East, The Cedars is walking distance from Eglinton GO Station. The 21-storey rental co-op building will feature a diverse mix of units, ranging from studios up to three-bedroom suites, and will be operated by the Co-op Housing Management Network (CHMN).
Toronto-based architecture firm RAW designed the rental co-op and worked closely with landscape architects O2 on the larger four-phase masterplan community, which will comprise a total of four residential towers as well as townhomes. The masterplan is organized around a 40,000-square-foot central courtyard that will connect to a new 1.1-acre public park at the east end of the site.
Options for Homes plans to build attainable homeownership housing across three additional phases at The Cedars. Homeowners will be able to access Options’ Ready Program, which offers down payment support of up to 15 per cent. Once complete, The Cedars will be one of the largest attainable ownership housing communities in Canada.
