New Toronto Community Housing Building at 150 River St.

Here at RPTV, we're committed to keeping you up to date on new construction in the Regent Park community. As buildings are readying for occupancy, it's important that we reach out to developers to learn more about these projects. We talked with Senior Construction Manager Robert Boyd to learn more about the new development at 150 River St.

This development is part of stage three of a five-stage plan to revitalize Regent Park. The end goal is to replace Toronto Community Housing Corporation’s (TCHC) old buildings with newer, safer housing. Though they have the option to leave Regent Park, all community housing residents are guaranteed a unit in one of TCHC’s new buildings.

Located at the corner of River St. and Oak St., this 11-storey building contains mostly community housing units with 33 affordable housing units. The TCHC units are rent-geared-to-income (or RGI), meaning your rent is based 30% of your annual income before taxes. The affordable units, though they are considered market housing, are listed at 80% of the average cost of a normal market unit in Toronto. They include one, two, and three-bedroom apartments, and four- and five-bedroom two-story townhomes for larger families. As Toronto’s housing crisis is made even worse by the pandemic, these options accommodate lower- and middle-income households.

Amenities include laundry facilities, underground parking, lounges, a rooftop garden, and a playground and courtyard. While market developers may include these features just to attract buyers, Boyd believes these shared spaces serve a greater purpose; they can help foster a sense of community among residents. “These communal bonds are so important for this entire revitalization to be successful,” explains Boyd. By creating these common spaces, people of different backgrounds--socioeconomic or otherwise--can talk, play, and live together.

Construction was completed in December 2019, and some tenants began to move in. With the pandemic, however, move-ins were paused to encourage self-isolation and prevent the spread and entry of disease. Occupancy is now starting up again, with increased safety protocols in place. High-traffic zones are sanitized twice a day, including laundry rooms, door handles, and elevator buttons. Common spaces were also temporarily closed but are re-opening soon.

Aside from this development, TCHC will start excavation on a new building in September or October of this year. Located just west of 150 River St., this development will be the last of phase three before moving on to the final two phases of revitalization.

Though the pandemic has caused delays, Toronto Community Housing is moving forward and getting residents moved in as soon as possible. We look forward to seeing how 150 River Street and TCHC’s upcoming projects turn out.

By Chloe Nguyen-Drury
Chloe is a youth journalist with the FOCUS Media Arts Centre