Will this proposal bring affordable housing to downtown high-rises?
THE GREEN LINE
DOCUMENTERS NOTES
Will this proposal bring affordable housing to downtown high-rises?
A proposal for one of Toronto’s tallest purpose-built rentals doesn't include affordable units. Meanwhile, the latest data shows the city is missing its own affordable housing targets.
David Mckay, partner and vice president at MHBC Planning, gives a presentation on the 67-storey development proposal at 239-247 Yonge St.
: sebastian tansil/the green line.
Sebastian Tansil
Caring mastermind who loves spending quality time with friends and family. Empathetic and precise economist by training. Loves amber yellow as it reminds him of people dearest to him.
May 30, 2025
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One of the tallest purpose-built rentals in Toronto could be coming to Yonge Street across from the Eaton Centre — but one detail had a community member shouting: The lack of affordable units.
On May 27, community members gathered at City Hall for a community consultation hosted by Abraham Plunkett-Latimer, a City of Toronto planner, and David McKay, partner and vice president at MHBC Planning, to give their feedback on the proposal.
The 67-storey building at 239-247 Yonge St. would house 774 residential units and 787 square metres of non-residential space.
A number of community members who live near the proposed development site joined the consultation to voice their concerns.
At one point during the meeting, a community member shouted that there are no affordable units in the proposal.
They added that it was all rentals when another attendee expressed disbelief. The planners nodded without chiming in on the exchange.
Since affordable housing has come up at virtually every community consultation for new developments that we’ve covered, The Green Line team looked at city data to understand this trend.
City Council passed a bill last October creating the “Purpose-Built Rental Housing Incentives stream.” The first phase of the plan, which was funded by the city, resulted in 6,109 new purpose-built rental homes and 1,047 new affordable rental homes.
In parallel, Toronto’s HousingTO Action Plan 2020-2030 has a goal of approving 65,000 new rent-controlled, affordable, rent-geared-to-income and supportive rental homes by 2030.
According to the housing secretariat, the city is “on target” with 23,374 of these units approved as of Dec. 31, 2023. Being on target is defined as approving 55,250 units by 2030.
However, the approval numbers had been steadily declining in the past few years. In 2020, the city approved 11,922 units. In 2021, around half the number of units was approved (6,535) compared to 2020. Around half of that (3,355) was approved in 2022 and only 1,562 units were approved in 2023. If this trend line continues, it’s unlikely that 55,250 units will be approved by 2030.
The Green Line requested the 2024 data for rent-controlled, affordable, rent-geared-to-income and supportive rental home approvals from the City of Toronto. We received no response by the time of publication.
On June 2, City staff responded to The Green Line with a link to updated data: 6,607 units were approved in 2024 under the City Council led by Mayor Olivia Chow, who came into office on July 12, 2023. This means Toronto has bucked the trend of declining approval rates.
As of March 31, 2025, the total number of approved units stands at 30,807. That’s progress — but with more than half the plan’s timeline behind us, we’re still shy of halfway to the 65,000-unit goal.
DENSITY CONCERNS
Overall, residents in attendance also asked the city not to approve too many high-rises on the same block.
O’Keefe Lane, which is just east of Yonge Street, is far too narrow for the new building, residents said. The distance between the proposed tower and adjacent buildings would make the laneway unusable, they added.
- One resident living in the nearby Pantages condo said she likely won’t be able to use her balcony while construction is ongoing and her entire window view will be blocked.
- Another resident living in the same building said that the city has huge traffic problems — with trucks and ambulances already having a hard time getting into her building. She said this proposal will cause even more congestion.
- Yonge Street, Victoria Street and Shutter Street also have garbage disposal problems due to overcrowding — the added density will make the issue worse, one resident said.
- She also added that construction noise will be especially loud because of how close the buildings are window to window.
- Another resident asked about environmental studies related to light pollution and the effect on migrating birds.
- He also asked if the building height will impede the flight pathway for helicopters from St. Michael’s hospital.
McKay addressed some of the concerns raised by the residents.
- He said the proposal meets the 20 metre distance requirements from window to window for downtown buildings. He added that he’ll submit examples of similar developments on Yonge Street that take place along narrow laneways like O’Keefe Lane in response to concerns by residents.
- McKay said that height of the building was necessary due to the need to build density in the downtown core to address Toronto’s housing crisis.
- He also said that the flight paths for hospital helicopters have been addressed.
Toronto Centre Coun. Chris Moise said Toronto has some influence on aspects like the building's distance from the road, and community benefit charges. However, it’s important to note that the provincial government under the Planning Act has a lot to say about what the city can do with these development proposals, including details such as the height of the building, which isn't within the city's control, he added.
How can you chime in on the discussions?
Community members are encouraged to send questions and feedback to Abraham Plunkett-Latimer. His phone number is 416-397-1942 and his email is Abraham.Plunkett-Latimer@toronto.ca.
You can also contact the office of Coun. Chris Moise at 416-392-7903. His email is Councillor_Moise@toronto.ca.
Residents in the area near the proposed development can also submit complaints about construction issues as they are happening.
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