How an empty parking lot will turn into affordable housing in the heart of Kensington Market

THE GREEN LINE
DOCUMENTERS NOTES

How an empty parking lot in Kensington Market will become affordable housing

The Kensington Market Community Land Trust gave an update about the four-storey building at 35 Bellevue Ave. which will deliver 78 affordable homes, prioritizing housing-insecure residents in the neighbourhood.

Girl walks by a closed parking lot

The parking lot at 35 Bellevue Ave. has been approved for redevelopment into affordable housing.
📸: Yara El Murr/The Green Line.

Taylor Simsovic

Taylor Simsovic

University of Toronto graduate and community worker living in Little Italy with her four rescue pets. Passionate about tackling food insecurity and engaging communities.

Nov. 26, 2024

These city meeting notes are part of Documenters Canada. Learn more about our program here

What would you do with a mostly empty parking space in your neighbourhood?

Well, the Kensington Market Community Land Trust members are planning to build affordable homes in theirs.

On Nov. 25, the Kensington Market Community Land Trust (KMCLT)  hosted an information and feedback session on the affordable housing development at 35 Bellevue Ave. The proposal is a four-storey building that will provide 78 affordable homes and will be jointly managed by KMCLT and St. Clare’s Multifaith Housing Society

Rent in the units will not exceed 30 per cent of a resident’s income and priority will be given to housing insecure residents selected through St. Clare’s network of partner organizations. Some examples include Streets to Homes, Fred Victor and Anishnawbe Health Toronto. While KMCLT and St. Clare’s will be the landlords providing housing maintenance to tenants, the partner agencies will provide other social support to the tenants referred into the units. 

The building will also have communal spaces such as kitchens, a backyard and an internal courtyard as well as offices for support workers. Property managers and staff will be on site 24/7 with 50 per cent of the first floor being non-residential. Tenant meetings will be hosted regularly to address concerns and to build a sense of ownership and community. 

A Kensington Market resident who currently lives on Bellevue Ave. said that they were concerned that the units are only single bedroom and studio apartments. Kevin Barrett, co-chair of KMCLT, agreed that it was a huge loss of opportunity since people eventually grow, get married and build up families. 

Zack Bradley, co-director of KMCLT, said that there was pressure to build multi-tenant units by adding two additional storeys. However, the additional residential units would trigger a city requirement for a large ground floor loading dock for garbage trucks. This would take up 30 to 40 per cent of the ground floor space.

Bradley added that the priority was to avoid further red tape with the city where possible and build affordable housing as fast as possible. He stated “We needed housing yesterday, so we’re trying to move quickly.” 

What does our Documenter have to say? 

Rapid mid-rise affordable housing developments are in small supply in a city where homeless shelters are already pushed to their limit. A homeless encampment exists by the church of St. Stephens-in-the-Fields where this very consultation meeting took place. Another encampment also exists in Bellevue Square Park, which is steps away from the proposal site. Meanwhile, there are many empty spaces across the city. Can this type of affordable housing development in an under-utilized parking lot offer a model to other vacant sites?

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