What Canada needs now: Inclusive, Affordable Housing for millions of vulnerable citizens!
by Yasmin Glanville with Paul Dowsett and Alec Hay
The urgent call for affordable and socially inclusive housing has been growing for decades. Today, the COVID-19 pandemic and recession have exacerbated the urgency - disproportionately affecting those living in poverty.
This impacts all of us.
To address this systemic crisis, Mosaic Resonanz is inviting mission-aligned organizations and individuals to step up to this housing challenge in partnership with us — builders, developers, landowners, philanthropists, social impact investors, and government.
The Mission: To create affordable, inclusive mixed-used housing with economic advancement and resiliency for occupants and their connected communities.
To illustrate how this might look, we describe a demonstration concept that can be adapted to fit the specific location and demographic requirements. We also showcase another path to creating inclusive housing, by the Windmill Development Group: repurposing existing real estate assets for social purpose. And we added some pragmatic and aspirational criteria for translating the vision for affordable, integrated housing and communities into reality, in Canada.
If our mission aligns with your purpose too, please reach out to discuss how we can join forces to bring inclusive projects to life, together.
An Illustrative Project – Warden Hilltop Village
This "Warden Hilltop Village (WHV) project concept" was proposed by one of the MRG partners – Sustainable – for a site in Toronto.
The concept won a 2nd prize in the international design competition sponsored by Rethinking the Future 2020.
Envisioned as an intergenerational, mixed-use housing development, it advocates for affordability, quality, sustainability, and inclusion for all vulnerable groups - as specified in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - Leaving No One Behind.
(Renderings by Sustainable.)
Highlights
Over the entire 7.1-acre "project" site, 850 units are proposed for 1,700 people — or 600ppHa. This represents a strong number of people required to support the new core amenities, to meet the demand for affordable housing stock (there's an 8.5-year waitlist for a 2 bedroom apartment), and to support walkable, transit-oriented development (as prices are higher in these types of neighbourhoods).
Existing neighbourhood building blocks (schools, transit, and community centres) are enhanced by new, missing core amenities. These include local food markets, childcare and pre-school, and co-working spaces. Given the site's proximity to protected ravine natural areas, the Warden Hilltop 'central park', the public courtyards, the TTC Subway, Warden Bus, and future Eglinton Crosstown, there is equitable access to both transit and to open space. Such relatively high access to transit and open space supports (and even necessitates) high-density numbers, so that the amenities will be able to follow suit to support the density and "catalyze" the site to be multi/mixed-use. This proposal is directed towards bringing walkable amenities and creating an urban centre for an area that is currently a centerless "donut".
It is important to note: 600ppHa is VERY dense and a strong number for an urban hub, transit-oriented centre that is both a place of residence and an attractor. However, 200 people/jobs per Ha is a healthy density. It also could support the amenities we speak about if all residents have the disposable means to support the amenity. For reference, Parkdale is around 200, and St Jamestown is around 700 people/jobs per Ha. By most estimations, an "urban centre" would be defined by around 400+pp/jobs/Ha. In our case, while notionally a density of 600, the nature of this inclusive community would set the effective density closer to 400.
Housing affordability is one of the main challenges for the Architecture of the Future. Most cities around the world need to increase their housing stock. Toronto is no exception.
Leveraging Your Real Estate for Social Impact[i]
Another path to creating inclusive housing is repurposing existing real estate assets for social impact.
Many faith-based groups, for instance, decided that finding new, mission-aligned uses for their real estate is worth the additional time, energy, and effort it takes over the much simpler route of selling to the highest bidder — leading to unexpected and creative partnerships with like-minded developers.
The Anglican Diocese of Ottawa's historic Christ Church Cathedral is an excellent example of this scenario. Their requirements were considerable: the cathedral's ongoing restoration and the upkeep of its energy-intensive parish hall meant that Christ Church needed both upfront capital and ongoing income. Its congregation and leaders had embraced their role in a pluralist, inclusive Canada, which included respecting and repairing their relationship with the environment, making a lower carbon footprint a priority. Additionally, the church's prominent place in the nation's history meant they were not interested in selling their land outright.
Their solution? A partnership with Windmill Developments, a developer with a focus on social impact and environmental sustainability, and previous experience collaborating with local community organizations. The deal, led by Windmill CEO, Jonathan Westeinde, centred on a long-term lease of their surplus land, upon which Windmill built a 21-storey, target LEED Platinum certified condo tower sold at market rates.
In exchange, Christ Church and the Diocese received a lump-sum in addition to annual payments to fund a full suite of upgrades, such as an environmentally sustainable gathering space to replace their obsolete parish hall — all while retaining ownership and control of the land.
This unique partnership has also inspired a second phase: in 2020, construction will begin on an 18-storey retirement home on what is currently the Cathedral's parking lot, using the same land lease arrangement that Windmill first established.
Social purpose real estate partnerships, like this, are unconventional. But given its massive capacity for impact, there is no reason why we should not see more of it in the future.
The project provides a model for an innovative partnership between a private developer and a faith group with a strong social mandate. Cathedral Hill exemplifies socially responsible investing: to provide a functional new social hall for the community and to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the church into the future to support its social mission.
Adding new market housing and a seniors' residence in a walkable downtown neighbourhood supports urban intensification. It provides mixed-use housing based on strong urban design principles.
Insights for Inclusive and Affordable Mixed-Use Housing to Revitalize Communities – Windmill and Mosaic Resonanz
Regardless of scale, location and situation, the following insights – gleaned from three decades of practice – help guide the design and building of inclusive developments in collaboration with our strategic partners.
Beyond Numbers. It is not only about quantity (number of units, square meters, cost). Inclusion, quality, and sustainability are the key features that will stand out in the developments of the future. There is also the associated challenge of housing security, and care at home, primarily for the more vulnerable. Ethical connections and governance for the wider community are priority concerns too.
Positive Local Impact. We believe that new developments should be more than just environmentally and economically sustainable. They need to be about the people that live and work in and around them; they must have a positive social impact by inspiring and creating communities. When a community development fosters awareness, communication, a sense of identity and cohesion, it becomes a community with a sense of place and social capital—the characteristics of resilient and sustainable communities.
Healthy People in a Healthy Community.
By design, inclusive housing does more than support physical well-being. It promotes mental and social well-being, too—the very essence of a healthy community. It provides the means for people to live with dignity and peace of mind, even during crises. It is the essence of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Principles of Responsible Investment.
Scalable. Scalability is important. The characteristics of each site determine the appropriate density and scale, so that each development is environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.
Inclusive and Resilient Community. A community must be resilient if it is to be sustainable. So, it is with our development. The ability to adapt to crises (like the COVID-19 pandemic, recession, and extreme weather events) and continue vital community functions, is essential to preserving confidence and broader community value. We have seen clearly how this affects key worker availability during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this also means that it must be genuinely inclusive, accessible to and part of the local community during good times and bad.
Balanced Costing. At the same time, the cost of building, operating, and maintaining the development must fall within the revenue that it generates. In this Hilltop project concept, for example, there is a narrow range of demand density to available carrying capacity, which is further influenced by the catchment necessary to support.[ii]
Built for Stability. For communities to remain stable in a crisis, there is a distinct need for access to groceries, money, and communications. Where they are deficient, the likelihood of public unrest during crises increases. During 'normal' times, people also need access to other essentials: from schools and clinics, to local representatives, municipal services, and recreation.
Emergency Accessibility. Similarly, they must have access to emergency services in a community that is aware of their situation, with assistance that can be responsive to their needs. Some of these services are available in the surrounding area; many are not. This lack of access impedes community formation. We address that, tailored to the specific needs of the neighbourhood. However, each additional amenity needs a minimum demand density within walking distance to remain sustainable.
Energy Security. Just as Food Security and Emergency Access Security are important, so is Energy Security. Rather than building to the legal minimum standard, hooking up to the nearest fossil fuel line, and then allowing the future residents to fend for themselves, often having to decide whether to Heat or to Eat; we should build to better standards of energy-efficiency, such as Passive House. Then install solar panels to produce electricity on-site and to produce heat, which can be stored in the summer for use in the winter — making the development energy-independent.
Transit Security. In Toronto, much of the affordable housing is in our inner suburbs — well-outside of areas well-served by transit. This situation creates a systemic barrier to full participation in the city for these residents. For many of these suburb residents who work in the service industry in downtown office towers, hotels, and restaurants – often working in shifts outside of regular 9-5 hours of operation - their situation is further exacerbated. Affordable housing, with off-hours child-care and food access, should be provided close to our subway stations along our primary transit lines.
Sustainable Value: Construction Form and Material. Choices in construction form and material can reduce the carbon footprint without sacrificing comfort or increasing cost. Similarly, there is scope to incorporate vertical farming and other resident-defined amenities. By taking a through-life approach to value, we can significantly reduce external dependencies and energy footprints. Housing value typically declines through life in favour of a growing secondary value as the community adjusts and adapts the site to its evolving needs. We see this in the number of properties defined only by their land value. By taking an integrated approach, we can preserve the through-life value of the development. Active maintenance preserves the economic value of the property. Low-carbon and demand efficient design enhances environmental value, and the right balance of amenities for community needs enhances social value. When we do these things, we create a through-life value significantly beyond the land value.
This approach suits patient capital investment where a percentage of units can be sold, once the community is self-sustaining, to cover the full CAPEX outlay. This allows quarterly revenue to focus on debt servicing, operations, and maintenance.
Integrated Model of Inclusiveness. Our integrated model of inclusive, affordable mixed-use housing - illustrated below - will bolster Canada's ability to simultaneously address the social, environmental, and economic issues of communities with vulnerable citizens on the brink of being homeless or living in isolation.
To bring this much-needed solution to life, at the needed speed and scale, we are calling all leaders who share this mission, to step up to partner with us.
The quest cannot be fulfilled soon enough.
Please join us today.
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About the Authors.
Founding partners of MRG – recognized leaders in our respective areas of expertise: architecture; infrastructure protection and resiliency; and, future ready business transformation, innovation and communications. For more information: Contact Yasmin Glanville at Info@mosaicresonanz.com or text 416-970-6600.
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[i] https://futureofgood.co/article-series/social-impact-real-estate/
[ii] The financial model (Building Design, Development and Operating costs) vary by specific projects and situations.