The federal government recently announced plans to lease government-owned land to developers to build affordable housing. This initiative involves repurposing properties from Canada Post, National Defence and other federal offices to create new housing across the country. (This strategy was previously discussed in this space in earlier posts from February and March of this year.)
The plan builds on earlier budget announcements, with 56 properties identified as being suitable for long-term leases. The list includes five properties set to be converted into 800 homes, with development proposals already under review. These sites include four former military bases in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Ottawa, as well as a former National Film Board building in Montreal. Of the 800 homes, 600 will be built in Ontario – 500 in Ottawa and 100 in Toronto.
While progress is being made, much of it appears to be repackaging of existing plans. The Calgary and Edmonton sites are part of the Canada Lands redevelopment of the Currie and Griesbach barracks, which has been ongoing since the early 2000s. Wateridge Village, formerly CFB Rockcliffe, began development in 2011, and Arbo is the development of Downsview, a project I recall working on at CMHC before 2000.
The list of “new” buildings up for development includes L’Esplanade Laurier, 122 Bank Street, and 522 Booth Street. However, the Booth Street property was on the market before the pandemic, and the others have been on the list of properties for disposal for several years.
Right now, this initiative appears to be more window dressing than substantive progress. Five properties on the list have some form of Federal heritage designation, which can significantly reduce the speed and increase the cost of development – not a winning combination for delivering affordable housing.
To make meaningful progress, the government needs to have a clear plan:
- Identify suitable buildings: Focus on buildings structurally suited to conversion. Currently, the list includes a mixed bag of buildings, many of which are unlikely candidates for conversion.
- Avoid historic buildings: Managing costs is crucial for affordable housing projects. Historical buildings, with their preservation requirements, complicate this process and drive up costs.
- Ensure existing infrastructure: Choose properties with existing infrastructure – such as transit, parks, and grocery stores – to ensure the sites are liveable.
- Develop a clear plan: The current plan aims to cut internal approval times in half, but moving from 9 years to 4.5 years is still too slow. A clear plan that ensures accountability for both the government and the bureaucracy is essential.
- Secure local support and buy in: Sites require local approval for their new intended use, which can be time consuming. As an example, site plan approvals for the former military bases took nearly a decade. The federal government must ensure that cities move swiftly and involve municipal authorities in the process. The viability of properties should be assessed with input from city officials. (Reviewing the list of announced buildings, it’s hard to see how many of the buildings in Ottawa are suitable for conversion into housing.) Discussion and feedback with cities needs to be front and center to focus on the most viable opportunities.
- Leverage external expertise: Consider creating an internal team with land development experience or hiring external experts. Years ago, CMHC had a property and land group. When building the Canada Mortgage Bonds Program and later the Apartment Construction Loan Program (formerly the Rental Construction Financing Initiative or RCFi), CMHC found that managing everything internally was not feasible. It turned to the private sector for the expertise it needed. It might be time to bring in similar market expertise to move this project forward.
Independent Opinion
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