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The funding picture
Funding for affordable housing is difficult
to obtain. There are no ongoing government programs at any level in
Ontario, or federally, that build significant numbers of affordable
units. Where there used to be annual affordable housing targets to
build many thousands of units, assistance from government is now
available in small amounts to do pre-development work and to meet very
specific housing needs such as the relief of homelessness. Providers
and non-profits who wish to build new units must come up with creative
ways to bridge the gap between actual building costs and what people
can afford to pay in rent. Current construction costs mean that the
building will cost 3 to 4 times what an affordable rent could support
in a mortgage.
Project costs
The Green Phoenix project was tendered to
pre-qualified bidders in August, 2006 and construction of the ten new
units in Shalom House completed in 2007. The hard and soft costs are
about $225 / square foot. Shalom House units averaged $150,000 and the
tender for the new construction should produce unit costs in the
$180,000 range. These figures don't include the improvements to amenity
spaces or retrofit work.
The hard and soft costs of the project total
to about $7.5 million. In addition to building the 21 new units, these
dollars will improve existing amenity spaces and resident comfort, and
retrofit the 30 year-old building's mechanical systems.
Funding sources
The chart below shows project funding
sources,
Funding for the project comes from three
main sources:
- The Foundation [PUCF]. PUCF's
resources for the Green Phoenix project include some retained earnings,
an allocation from replacement reserves, and future energy savings from
the retrofit. PUCF is investigating ways of converting new energy
savings into capital dollars. Over time, PUCF's resources will bring
about $1.6 million to the project.
- Government grants and incentives
Federal, Provincial, and Municipal governments and agencies will
contribute about 1/2 of the capital costs for the project, or about
$3.75 million. Government funding is very much a moving target. For a
list of funding secured for this project see the bottom of this page.
- Fundraising The remaining costs
are the target of a fundraising campaign, which began in 2006. As of
December 2007 we have raised close to $500,000. We expect to raise an
additional $1,600,000 by the end of 2009.
As noted above, the fundraising campaign
represents more than 1/4 of the capital budget. We are approaching
charitable foundations, corporations and individuals to raise this
money, Your help will make a difference to the lives of people
at Phoenix Place. You can donate through
CanadaHelps.org, at the link below:
Pre-development and planning funding:
2003 to 2005
- $10,000 grant from the federal Supporting
Communities Partnership Initiative
for Pre-Development Funding (SCPI PDF). This was spent on
Architectural, Financial, and Administrative contract staff.
- $10,000 grant from Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation (CMHC SEED) for preparation of a Housing Needs and
Demands study and a Business Plan. These are lengthy documents
outlining the rationale and project plans needed to obtain other
funding.
- $13,000 in grants from CMHC and Enbridge
Gas for a Green Affordable Housing conference held in June of 2004,
- $13,000 in grants from National Resources
Canada, CMHC, and the Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) for a two and a
half day workshop, called a design charrette, to begin the Integrated
Design process for the project, The charrette took place at the end of
January, 2005.
Funding secured for construction: 2006 to
2009
- $1,123,000 SCPI grant from the federal
Supporting Community Partnerships Initiative program towards the
renovation costs for Shalom House. The grant is , administered by the
City's Affordable Housing Office and approved by Toronto City Council
on April 15th, 2005,
- A $100,000 Project Development Funding
(PDF) loan (0% interest) from CMHC to bridge development costs until
long term financing is available. $35,000 is a grant.
- A $50,000 grant from the Toronto
Atmospheric Fund for the project's geo-thermal plant.
- A $485,000 grant from the City's
Affordable Housing Office towards the geo-thermal plant.
- A $203,000 package of retrofit incentives
organized by the Social Housing Services Corporation. This money
suppports the completion of the geo-thermal plant, a lighting retrofit
of the existing building, and the first stages of installing solar hot
water heating.
- A $100,000 Trillium grant for increased
amentiy spaces accessible to the community at large.
- A $100,000 grant from the Canadian Auto
Workers for new affordable housing.
- A $60,000 grant from Natural Resources
Canada for building design exceeding the Model National Energy Code for
Buildings by 65%.
- A $1,375,000 HPI grant from the federal
Homelessness Partnering Initiative towards the new construction of 11
new apartments. The grant is administered by the City of Toronto's
Affordable Housing Office.
- A $240,000 grant from the Mayor's Capital
Revolving Fund towards the Shalom House renovations.
Fundraising work and other sources 2007
to 2010
- A fundraising campaign of up to $1.8
million.
- A $600,000, low-to-zero interest loan to
be paid back from about $55,000 in annual energy savings.
- Green Roof and Storm Water Management
grants from the City of Toronto.
- About $40,000 in various grants and
incentives related to the green features of the project. These are
mostly tied to the energy use and reduction of fossil fuel use of the
buildings.
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