WoodGreen Community Services, Toronto’s largest non-municipal affordable housing provider, is knocking on every door possible in search of partnerships as it moves aggressively towards its goal of creating 2,000 new affordable units by 2030.

The agency has been working with such diverse partners as Daniels, Sun Life, Castlepoint Numa, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Danforth Baptist Church, Newmarket Funds, the Sprott Foundation, R-Hauz and the City of Toronto to cobble together deals to reach its 2030 target, building on the original inventory of 1,000 units.

WoodGreen Community Services, who have contracted R-Hauz as the builder, manufacturer and developer, announce plans to develop a new seniors housing project by converting the site of the Danforth Church at 60 Bowden St.

As Toronto’s leader in prefabricated backyard housing, also known as accessory dwelling units (ADUs) or garden and laneway suites, Happi Builds, in collaboration with R-Hauz, uses innovative climate friendly technologies to deliver a seamless customer-focused experience. From initial consultation, property assessment, design and permit approvals, to assembly, construction and delivery, Happi Builds offers a full-service solution for sustainable backyard housing.

Proposed 8 storey mass timber retrofit affordable housing project will allow seniors to age in place on the Danforth..

An 18-unit transitional housing project designed and built in seven months with only two change orders sets a standard for other housing projects at a time when speed of construction is a prerequisite to tackling the deepening housing affordability crisis in Ontario and Canada.

In keeping with the church’s themes of community and looking to the future, the proposed addition of housing to the site features some unique elements. The design by CMV Group Architects includes mass timber construction that offers a low-carbon solution in the face of climate change, while the proposed affordable housing is intended to support low-income individuals. Portions of the church would be retained to continue as part of the community.

This story is part of Maclean’s annual Year Ahead guide. Read predictions for the rest of 2023 here.

A Kitchener, Ont.-based architect sees plenty of opportunities for mass timber to help solve the affordable housing crisis.

Long-time Toronto developer Leith Moore has in recent years been working on mass timber mid-rise townhomes, and laneway suites made with prefabricated parts. Despite recent advances in timber structures and building codes, “there’s still a lot of mystery around wood,” he said.

St Paul’s Italian United Church on Ossington Avenue in Toronto’s Davenport Village area was declared surplus by the United Church of Canada in the first century of the new millennium, and was converted to affordable housing, with 20 apartments having opened within the renovated building in 2012. Now, another 25 units could be brought to the site in a new development that is proposed to be constructed by R-Hauz on the property.