Supportive housing is developed for groups of people that need added supports to maintain permanent, stable, and successful tenancies. These housing needs are a part of the definition of ‘core housing need’ and lie on the housing continuum between transitional housing (short-term housing with supports) and social housing (permanent, subsidized housing with affordable rents for […]
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has released a new funding and financing program through their Green Municipal Fund (GMF). It is called the Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH) program and is intended to help affordable housing projects achieve better energy performance. The program is aimed at retrofits and new-build projects with funding opportunities for every […]
In March 2020, Hannah Hoyt from the Joint Centre for Housing Studies of Harvard University (in collaboration with NeighborWorks America) published the report “More for Less? An Inquiry into Design and Construction Strategies for Addressing Multifamily Housing Costs.” The report includes 30+ interviews from developers, architects, contractors & policy makers who discussed the challenges of […]
The Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts hosted a webinar entitled Beat the REITs at the beginning of June (you can watch it on YouTube here). Six speakers from across the country presented on the topic of financialization of housing leading to an affordable housing shortage with a focus on innovative ways that the community […]
The New York Times published an opinion article entitled, Now Is the Time to Embrace Density in mid-May. The article begins with an air of hope, stating that the economy will recover from the COVID-19-induced recession. The recovery will begin in cities that were thriving before the pandemic. The question we’re faced with is whether […]
Cahdco and its clients’ projects were in varying stages of development when the impacts of COVID-19 first began to be felt. While some projects were still in early feasibility, others like Christ Church Bells Corners (CCBC) were preparing to submit Site Plan Control applications and Veterans’ House is currently under construction. In the face of […]
Back in April amidst the COVID-19 social distancing measures taken across the country, the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) launched a series of weekly 1-hour online webinars with a panel of experts to discuss the effect of the pandemic on the Canadian urban environment and related topics. I virtually attended the first installment of CityTalk: Cities […]
The last two months have brought major changes to people’s lives across the globe: travelling came to a grinding halt, schools promptly closed, and working from home became the new normal for those fortunate enough to be able to continue work. My own plans changed drastically. I was living in Groningen, Netherlands for the final […]
For about two years now, Anna and I have been working with the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa (ADO) and Christ Church Bells Corners (CCBC) to redevelop part of the CCBC site in Bells Corners to include affordable housing. The ADO and CCBC are working to create 35 mixed affordable housing units on the site of […]
At the end of February, Cahdco and Somerset West Community Health Centre (SWCHC) hosted a workshop with various stakeholders from a wide range of backgrounds to discuss rooming house and micro-suite feasibility. Members from over 20 different organizations including government representatives, non-profit housing providers, support service workers, architects and other interested parties participated in the […]
Check out this time-lapse video from McDonald Brothers Construction, of their work on Multifaith Housing Initiative’s (MHI) latest project: The video captures the first 5 months of construction from the foundation walls being backfilled right through to the framing of the second storey. Veterans’ House will be a three-storey, 40-unit supportive housing development for homeless […]
Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC) is looking for a Student Intern for the summer of 2020. CCOC is hiring a 2020 student intern to assist in developing new affordable housing. The student will work in collaboration with the CCOC Development department and Cahdco, CCOC’s non-profit development corporation. The summer student will assist Cahdco in the […]
The “Missing Middle” is a term that often comes up in discussion around intensification, complete communities, housing choice, and housing affordability. It is used to describe the range of housing types between single-detached houses and large apartment buildings that have seemingly “gone missing” from many cities in the last 60-70 years. This is seen in […]
Cahdco and the project team are in the home stretch of completing the King’s Daughters and Sons (KDS) Apartments expansion project! City occupancy has been granted, and final deficiency repairs are underway. Tenants will begin moving in to their new homes as of the end of December. The existing KDS Apartments has been in operation […]
The October 24th Housing Services Corporation (HSC) SHARE Conference, in partnership with Cahdco, brought together affordable housing experts from across Canada and even as far as Melbourne, Australia. This year’s conference, entitled “Home and Away: Tools for Collaboration from Canada and Australia”, focused on developing partnerships between non-profits, housing co-operatives, and governments in pursuit of […]
On November 7, 2019, YSB hosted the grand opening of its wonderful new facility at 2887 Riverside Drive. The four-storey Youth Housing Hub includes 39 new supportive housing units for formerly (!) homeless youth and a youth services hub on the ground floor. Tenants began to move in to their new homes on November 11th. […]
One of the greatest challenges facing municipal governments today is the need to stimulate economic development and urban renewal in the face of existing limitations on municipal government authority. To do so, municipalities are increasingly turning to innovative tools and techniques that are designed to encourage the private sector to participate in economic development and […]
In 2017, the federal government announced the National Housing Strategy (NHS), a strategy with targets and funding programs aimed to build and repair housing across the country. The initial announcement was a 10-year, $40 billion framework that claimed to give highest priority to “those in greatest need”, defined as “vulnerable groups”. Today, the strategy has […]
This Thursday, November 7th, Cahdco and CCOC are excited to partner with Carbon613 and CSV Architects to host the Sustainable Housing Tour at our Beaver Barracks and Arlington properties. CCOC Beaver Barracks is an award-winning 254-home affordable rental housing project with mixed rents and uses, developed by CCOC and Cahdco. Sustainability was at top-of-mind when […]
Housing Services Corporation (HSC) hosted an Innovation Forum at CCOC’s Beaver Barracks on October 24, 2019. The Forum was a full-day event, with presentations by various speakers sharing experiences and tools for enabling collaboration in the housing sector. Cahdco’s President and three Project Managers participated in the Forum. One of the guest speakers at the […]
Last week Project Manager Cynthia and I attended the first session of a free 3-part workshop hosted by Invest Ottawa at Bayview Yards, an interesting adaptive reuse project west of downtown Ottawa. The session was an introduction to Design Thinking, Human Centered Design and business modelling; concepts popularized by IDEO in 2009 that laid out […]
CCOC’s most recent project, 143 – 153 Arlington Ave. has been formally recognized by the City of Ottawa for its commitment to a collaborative development process by receiving Ottawa’s first biannual Community Partnership Award. On October 9th, at the City’s Urban Design Awards, Councillor Jeff Leiper presented CCOC’s team and community partners with the award. […]
The Canadian Federal Election is fast approaching, and from coast to coast to coast, Canadians have universally expressed their concerns over the rapidly increasing cost of housing. That is why on October 6th, the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, alongside four partner organizations, hosted the National Housing Debate at The Westin Ottawa hotel. Five candidates […]
Last week, Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI) organized a Cornerstone Laying Ceremony for their newest project, Veterans’ House: The Andy Carswell Building, on the Canso Campus. Project Manager Cynthia and Project Coordinator Hadiya had the pleasure of attending the event which featured a fly-by of one of the airplanes Andy Carswell himself flew in the Second […]
Rooming houses, also referred to as lodging houses or single room occupancy (SRO) buildings, offer individual rooms for rent to those in need of transitional housing. These rooms often share a kitchen and washroom facilities with other tenants. Rooming houses play an important part in the housing continuum (see CMHC’s housing continuum below), providing an […]
Featuring guest speaker Dr. Carolyn Whitzman October 24, 2019 | 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Location: Beaver Barracks, 464 Metcalfe St. Ottawa Cost: $140 plus HST Cahdco is pleased to partner with Housing Services Corporation (HSC) for a full day event looking at tools for enabling collaboration in the housing sector. This event will feature […]
Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC) is looking for a Development Assistant. The successful candidate will be a knowledgeable administrative professional with an interest in managing social media and creating marketing materials. The Assistant will work with the Development team in providing assistance with various aspects of project management. If you: are dedicated to social justice […]
As part of the Cahdco Lunch ‘n’ Learn series, I looked at a report called Rethinking the Tower by Ryerson University’s Ryerson City Building Institute (CBI). The report studies innovative methods of creating affordable and attainable housing in many global cities in order to understand what could be effectively implemented in Toronto. The information in […]
On June 6, 2019, the Government of Ontario passed Bill 108, More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019, amending 13 existing statutes, including the Planning Act, Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act, and the Development Charges Act. Several of these Acts have gone through multiple iterations of amendments in the last few years, requiring developers and planners to […]
The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) annual national conference was particularly important this year as it celebrated the centenary year of CIP, having been established in 1919. Hundreds of planners from across the country came to Ottawa to celebrate the anniversary, including Cahdco’s Anna Froehlich, Cynthia Jacques, and myself. The conference offered workshops, learning tours, […]
Happy City, a consultancy group based out of Vancouver, is endeavoring to help solve the growing social disconnection between people living in cities today. Happy City is a group founded on the principles of the book of the same name. (Happy City the book was written by Charles Montgomery and is a great read for […]
The article I specifically looked at was “Calling All Architects: New Approaches to Old Housing,” which featured 3 projects around the world that exemplified inventive design solutions to maintain and improve existing housing stock. Usually, these renovations cost less than half the amount it would to demolish and rebuild. From minimal interventions with maximum impact, […]
As a member of the Cahdco team, I am drawn to the office every morning by the prospect of a fresh coffee and the opportunity to contribute to something that creates lasting value for our community. Many of the projects we undertake directly result in the creation of new affordable homes. In truth, at the […]
The National Capital Commission (NCC) has (re)started the consultation for the development of Lebreton Flats. Although it seems discouraging that we have failed to develop such a crucial part of our downtown, it is important that we get past our previous failings and focus on how we can make Lebreton Flats an Ottawa neighbourhood once again […]
On June 6, 2019, the Cahdco team went on a site visit to the new Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa (YSB) development on Riverside Drive currently under construction. The building was designed by Vandenberg & Wildeboer Architects (VWA) and is being built by McDonald Brothers Construction (MBC). YSB is building a new four-storey affordable supportive […]
On Thursday June 13th, the City of Ottawa Planning Committee passed a report from the City Housing Branch about the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI, 2019-2022) and the City Capital Investment Plan for Affordable Housing (2019). The report was passed and will be on the City Council agenda at their upcoming June 26th meeting. Once […]
The research that I undertook for the lunch-and-learn series is a review of Steve Pomeroy’s December 2017 discussion paper: “Envisioning a Modernized Social and Affordable Housing Sector in Canada”. Steve Pomeroy, of Focus Consulting Inc., is an independent policy-research consultant. Steve holds a masters degree in Urban Planning and has over 32 years of experience […]
On May 31, I had the opportunity to join the Cahdco team for my first construction site visit. Our team of nine set out with our matching hard hats for a tour from the site general contractor, Morley Hoppner, with input from Cahdco staff who have been working on the project as well as CSV […]
Affordable housing quickly became my primary research interest after I began my Master’s degree at Queen’s University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) in Fall 2018. With an increasing number of Canadians paying too much for housing, there is a role for urban planners to contribute to the amount of affordable housing stock while […]
Cahdco has also recently started blogging again, you will have noticed recent blogs on our website about a modular housing event we hosted, the Arlington & Cornerstone projects being completed and the recent Housing Services Corporation (HSC) Regeneration Forum. You can expect that we will be blogging on a more consistent basis and I encourage […]
At the end of November 2018, 42 women moved into Cornerstone Housing for Women’s new residence, in the renovated Institut Jeanne d’Arc building in Westboro. The project was an adaptive reuse of the former convent into supportive rental housing for women. The project was also initiated in 2016 with a feasibility report and winning Action […]
The event was a national gathering of housing sector professionals with an interest in development, bringing together delegates and speakers from all across the country. Titled “A Roadmap to Development,” the conference sessions were focused into three streams, looking at topics related to the planning, design, and execution of affordable housing development. It was a […]
Cahdco is very excited as they continue to work with their sister corporation, CCOC, to create a new family-oriented, 3.5-storey building. The project will be a 16 unit mixed-income rental property with two and three bedroom apartments in stacked townhouses. There are 8 two bedroom units and 8 three bedroom units, two of which are […]
The event included a presentation by Abi Bond (Managing Director of Homelessness Services & Affordable Housing Programs for the City of Vancouver) and Luke Harrison (Vice President, Business Development, of Modular Solutions, and previously Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver Affordable Housing Agency). Abi and Luke spoke to their experience in developing temporary affordable modular […]
The Ottawa City Council approved the Section 37 Guidelines 2017 Report recommended by Planning Committee on May 24, the result of a five year review of the city’s implementation of Section 37.In the Ontario Planning Act, Section 37 can be used by municipalities to obtain community benefits in return for a Zoning By-law Amendment. The policy is […]
I had the opportunity to attend an affordable and accessible housing event at the Gatineau City Hall the morning of May 4th: “Bâtir notre avenir: tendance et enjeu du logement abordable dans le Région de Gatineau et Ottawa”. The event was organized and hosted by CMHC in partnership with the Ville de Gatineau, and sought […]
On April 20th, Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) announced the creation of the CMHC Rental Construction Financing initiative. This initiative will provide $2.5 billion in low-cost construction loans over four years to encourage the construction of new rental housing. This program […]
Many readers will be surprised to learn that in the 1980’s and early 1990’s the City of Ottawa provided land to create affordable housing. Land was purchased and surplus city land set aside and held in an affordable housing land bank. The City’s Housing Branch worked with provincial Ministry of Housing officials and local not-for-profit […]
On May 18, 2016, Bill 204, the Promoting Affordable Housing Act, 2016 passed First Reading in the Ontario legislature. If the bill receives Royal Assent, it will allow municipalities to require private sector developers to include affordable housing units in their development proposals through inclusionary zoning (IZ). Simply put, IZ policies require or encourage new […]
The Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa has released its annual report. The report addresses the progress made towards ending homelessness in Ottawa by recording annual change across the sector. It tracks how many people are using emergency shelters, the demographic of those staying in shelters, and the length of their stay. It also monitors the […]
On September 16, 2016, I had the opportunity to attend an exciting sector event that took place at the Beaver Barracks in Ottawa. Housing Services Corporation (HSC) hosted a SHARE Innovation Event, “Affordable Housing Development: Built Form, Design and Partnerships”. What is SHARE? It is the Sustainable Housing Asset Resource Exchange, an initiative led by […]
Ottawa Salus Corporation is making encouraging and innovative advancements in the fields of low carbon building and supportive housing. Through an integrated design process in 2010, the decision to design, develop and build a prototype building with both LEED Platinum and Passive House Certification was made, and a collaborative, exciting project was shaped. Simply put, […]
My two previous blogs about municipal tools to create social facilities compared Vancouver’s municipal governance structure to Ottawa’s, reviewed what social facilities Vancouver has achieved and outlined some of the tools Vancouver uses to achieve these facilities. So what does this mean for Ottawa? Municipalities in Canada only have a limited set of powers; they […]
Let’s start with the premise that we are all creative. Whether you’re an economist, baker or athlete, we all use some creativity in our day to day lives. It actually doesn’t matter if you got a D+ in art class or didn’t make the cut for the high school play. Creativity is a doorway to […]
In rapidly growing cities, housing markets can intensify affordability issues, particularly for individuals and families living on low incomes. Redevelopment, infill and intensification, particularly in the form of upscale medium and high rise condominiums, can involve the demolition or conversion of existing affordable rental stock and drive up land and property values, placing upward pressure […]
A Necessary Collective Shift Mid-November of 2015, I attended a talk with Dan Pallotta hosted by Carleton University Students Association and the Student Philanthropy Council. Dan Pallotta’s[1] basic message is that the double standards that exist for the non-profit/charitable sector and for-profit businesses are affecting the abilities of the sector to make the big impact […]
Community opposition to affordable housing is often organized around a short-list of fears – property values will fall, crime will go up, traffic congestion and noise will worsen and the overall desirability of the neighbourhood will decline. The debate over whether or not new affordable housing impacts property values is not new. Research dates back […]
The Context for Affordable Housing We are hearing a lot about affordable housing in the news and on the streets. Communities all over Canada have prioritized the need to address what many are calling a crisis in the lack of affordable housing. In Ottawa, Broadening the Base (BtB) is exploring ways to bring new and […]
Originally posted on ccochousing.org. As Development Manager at CCOC, I also serve as the president of our sister corporation Cahdco. First created by CCOC in 1996, following the provincial government’s withdrawal from investing in affordable housing, Cahdco works with both CCOC and a variety of other clients to create new and innovative spaces of social […]
Taplen Construction Time Lapse of Salus Clementine Passive House Roughly defined, Passive House is a building design certification that consumes very little energy to operate, promotes a reduction in carbon emissions and ultimately results in an occupant’s improved comfort. This energy efficient building certification ensures the design has achieved a very high level of air-tightness […]
Biomimicry brings together nature and technology in an exciting blend of human ingenuity and observation of nature. Biomimicry is a practice that invites us to value what nature can show us and apply it to our own design problems. Nature has about 3.8 billion years of research and development, so if we wish to live in […]
Last November, Ottawa lost a great champion of non-profit sector when Phil Brown passed away. While not all readers will know of Phil from his work as a development project manager to the not-for-profit sector, many who live in non-profit or co-op housing and anyone who has entered a community health centre in eastern Ontario […]
Here are five planning policies with the potential to enable more affordable non-profit and private market rental housing:1. Expediting the Approval ProcessFast-tracked or expedited approvals prioritize applications for affordable housing development, allowing them to essentially “jump the queue” at City Hall. The goal is to reduce the schedule, costs and associated risks that accompany delays in […]
CCOC and Cahdco are proud to announce that we are two of the component development partners in RendezVous LeBreton Group’s bid to the National Capital Commission for the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats. With our history as recognized leaders in affordable rental housing and our commitment to the Centretown, LeBreton Flats, Hintonburg and Dalhousie neighbourhoods, we think we’re the natural choices to […]
Achieving Social Assets in VancouverIn my first post about municipal tools to create social assets, I compared Vancouver’s municipal governance structure to Ottawa’s and reviewed Vancouver’s substantial achievements in creating social assets. This post will outline some of the tools Vancouver uses to achieve these facilities and provide some project examples. Planning ToolsVancouver has a […]
“A house is made of walls and beams. A home is made of love and dreams.” Do you believe that a home is more than four walls and a roof? I believe that home is where the heart is, where the seeds of our dreams take root while we sleep. Cahdco has been working as development project […]
“You can’t cross a chasm in two hops.” I’ve seen that quote attributed to a few people. It’s posted on the cork board above my desk. It’s a good reminder for mission-driven organizations like CCOC and our sister corporation Cahdco: there’s a big need out there and we aren’t going to get anywhere with small […]
CCOC completed construction of the Beaver Barracks project in the summer of 2012. At 254 units in five buildings it was the largest project we’ve ever undertaken, and it came in on time and on budget.Mixed with the feelings of pride and satisfaction of completing the award-winning flagship project was a tinge of bereavement. The […]
This past spring, Cahdco and Carleton University initiated a research partnership to examine the relationship between Ottawa’s planning policies and local housing affordability. With funding from a Mitacs Accelerate Grant, in which Cahdco serves as both industry partner and co-funder, this research project seeks to determine the extent and ways in which Ottawa’s planning and […]
This is part one of a three-part post about using municipal tools to create social assets. This first part reviews what Vancouver has achieved and compares Vancouver’s municipal governance structure to Ottawa’s.The second part will provide a detailed look at Vancouver’s achievements in creating social assets.Part three will look at some of the challenges and […]
Suite 200, 415 Gilmour St. Ottawa ON K2P 2M8
Sister corporation to CCOC