Previously:
Federal plan: London, Calgary, GST on new rental housing
Housing Accelerator update, weeks 2-4: Halifax, Mississauga, Vaughan
Week 5: Hamilton, Mississauga, Halifax, Metro Vancouver
Week 6: Quebec, Kitchener, Guelph, Burlington, Ajax, Mississauga
Week 7: Mississauga, Brampton, Ajax, Moncton, Richmond Hill, Kelowna, Metro Vancouver, Edmonton
Week 8: Metro Vancouver, Waterloo, Charlottetown, Winnipeg
Week 9: Kitchener, Quebec
Week 10: Calgary, Winnipeg, Moncton
Week 11: Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg
Week 12: Richmond Hill, Toronto, Oakville
Week 14: Windsor, Toronto, Vancouver
Week 15: agreements with Mississauga, Burnaby, Winnipeg, and Toronto
Week 17: agreement with Iqaluit
Week 18: agreements with Summerside, Surrey, and Guelph
Burlington, ON
Craig Campbell, Burlington Post. 'It’s like our moon landing': $21M Burlington housing accelerator funding to speed up approvals.
The City of Burlington will use $21 million from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Housing Accelerator Fund to speed up housing development approvals, with a goal of building 600 new homes in the next three years and 5,000 in the next 10 years.
Includes critical comments from Steve Pomeroy. As a layperson, I hesitate to disagree with Pomeroy, but:
“There’s a question whether expanding supply will support affordability.” Is there? New housing frees up older housing. $21 million would build about 40 homes at $500K each; 600 new homes is 15X as many, and 5000 is 12X as many. 600 new homes means 600 fewer households competing with everyone else for the limited supply of existing housing.
“Pre-zoning property for higher density would increase the value of land in advance of development, which wouldn’t help achieve affordability.” This is wrong. What matters is the land value per home: that’s the amount that each household has to pay for land.
As Shane Phillips puts it in The Affordable City: “Upzoning opponents are correct that land values often go up when upzoning occurs, but they’re looking at the wrong number. When zoning capacity increases, the relevant number is not the total property value but the property value divided by the development capacity.”
See Figures 34 and 35 in the economic analysis for the BC multiplex policy for an illustration of land values after Auckland upzoned in 2016.
Burlington city council voted last October 23 to approve four units by right, in principle. The next step is for staff to prepare the bylaw amendments.
St. Catharines, ON
Victoria Nicolaou, St. Catharines Standard: St. Catharines to receive $25.7 million from federal housing program.
In a funding deal that will see almost 700 new housing units built over the next three years, the federal government announced St. Catharines will receive $25.7 million to help eliminate housing barriers and spur the construction of more than 12,000 homes over the next decade.
St. Catharines city council voted on December 11 to allow four units by right.
$25.7 million would build about 50 homes at $500K each. 700 homes is about 12X as many, and 12,000 is more than 200X as many.
Saint John, NB
Emma MacPhee, Telegraph-Journal: Feds give Saint John $9 million to build more homes.
As part of the funding agreement, the city will be required to deliver on 1,124 new housing units over the next three years, of which 285 have to be “additional units created through this funding envelope,” said city housing manager Andrew Reid.
About 9 per cent of the units, so about 101, have to be affordable, Reid added.
According to a press release accompanying the announcement, the total number of new units created is expected to reach 1,700 in the next 10 years.
The press release notes:
The agreement will allow for more housing options in the city, including more rental, affordable, and missing-middle housing, with up to four units per residential lot.
$9 million would build about 18 homes at $500K each. 285 new homes is 15X as many, and 1700 is close to 100X as many.
Kingston, ON
Zoe Demarco, Storeys: Kingston Inks $27.6M Housing Accelerator Fund Deal.
The funds will help speed-up construction of nearly 900 housing units over the next three years, and lead to the creation of more than 4,800 homes in the next decade.
As part of its HAF agreement, Kingston has committed to nine initiatives that will support a range of housing types and density levels in the city, including permitting four units as-of-right and increasing density near Queen’s University.
$27.6M would build 55 homes at $500K each. 900 is 16X as many, and 4800 is more than 80X as many.
Ajax, ON
Kristen Calis, Ajax News Advertiser: Feds give Ajax $22M boost for housing.
“Today's announcement will help fast-track more than 580 homes in the next three years and almost 11,000 homes over the next decade,” said Sean Fraser, minister of housing, infrastructure and communities.
$22M would build 44 homes at $500K each, so 580 homes is about 12X as many, and 11,000 is about 250X as many.
Ajax town council voted on October 23 to approve four units per lot, in principle.