$178 million investment will add 1,700 rental units in a new transit-connected community
SCARBOROUGH— The Ontario government is investing up to $178 million through the Building Ontario Fund (BOF) to support the construction of approximately 1,700 new rental homes, including a target of 340 affordable units with below–market rents, in Scarborough. Located on underused land near the Scarborough GO Station, the project will form part of the new Scarborough Junction, a transit-connected community expected to include 7,700 homes along with parks, public spaces and community amenities, including convenient access to the adjacent GO transit network.
“To support our plan to protect Ontario, our government is delivering long-term affordable housing in a rapidly growing area of the Greater Toronto Area,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance. “Through the Building Ontario Fund, we are leveraging innovative financing tools to unlock rental housing supply that otherwise would not be delivered and transforming underused land into a vibrant transit-connected community.”
The equity investment in the Scarborough Junction project is being made through Building Ontario Fund in a joint venture with Republic Developments and Harlo Capital and is advancing a project that was previously stalled. Once BOF’s investment has been repaid, it will reinvest into other projects that would not otherwise get built across six priority areas including affordable housing, energy, transportation, long-term care, municipal and community infrastructure, and critical minerals.
The Greater Toronto Area is expected to add at least 1.7 million residents by 2051. At a time when housing supply is constrained, the government’s investment will help increase rental availability and access to affordable homes, while supporting good-paying jobs in construction. Project construction is expected to begin in 2027, with first occupancies anticipated by 2030.
“We need to get more housing of all types built across the province, faster and smarter,” said Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “That is why we have introduced a series of measures to reduce the time and cost of building, including the expansion of the HST rebate, the introduction of the Development Charge Reduction Program, and transformational legislative reforms through Bills 17, 60 and 98. Despite this work, we know our job isn’t done; and this investment through the Building Ontario Fund is bringing housing online at a time when it is much-needed.”
Today’s investment builds on the Ontario government’s work to spur housing development and increase housing affordability through the Development Charge Reduction Program (DCRP), which is part of the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build that will deliver up to $8.8 billion in federal and provincial funding over 10 years for housing-enabling infrastructure projects.
Quick Facts
- The Building Ontario Fund works with trusted institutional investors and partners to close financing gaps and enable priority infrastructure projects to move from vision to reality and drive long-term economic growth.
- The project will deliver approximately 1,700 new rental homes, including a minimum target of 20 per cent affordable units secured at below-market rents for 40 years.
- These affordability objectives were agreed upon with intention to be eligible for the City of Toronto affordable housing programs.