London’s two city-owned housing agencies — whose boards were dissolved by city council last year after an outside audit — will present their 2019 annual reports to politicians next week. City hall reporter Megan Stacey breaks down highlights:
Two major projects with a combined 100 units received Housing Development Corp. (HDC) funding last year. The agency gets about $2 million a year from city hall to create new affordable housing, but its goal is to use that cash to leverage more money from donors and other levels of government.
Of the new units, 68 are priced below median market rents (pegged at $883 a month at the time): 33 units at 440 Clarke Rd., a mixed-income housing development by Zerin Development Corp., and 35 units at Joan’s Place, a Youth Opportunities Unlimited build on Richmond Street. Those projects received a combined $117,745 from HDC, which said that helped to secure $34.4 million in additional funding.
But those projects are well below the 300 affordable units pegged as needed each year to meet London’s demands, a target HDC previously shared with council. “Do we need more units? Yeah. We need a lot more units,” HDC boss Stephen Giustizia said.
“There’s areas where we have need in just about every function of a government. You’re never going to achieve all of your needs and never was there anticipation we’d get to exactly where we need to be,” he added.
6.7 million invested in public housing
Harshly criticized in the 2019 audit for a slow turnover rate and a high number of coveted rent-geared-to-income units sitting vacant, London and Middlesex Community Housing (LMCH) spent a $6.66 million on repairs and building security in 2019, reporting 11 per cent more repairs done last year over 2018. Of that, $4.18 million was spent on exterior upgrades and nearly $1.5 million spent on mechanical and plumbing fixes.
Security is a big issue for the housing provider, which manages more than 3,200 units in London and Middlesex. The annual report suggests a 65 per cent increase in security complaints that were investigated and resolved last year compared to 2018, though the nature of those complaints and thenumber that went unresolved is unclear. About $408,000 was spent by LMCH on security in 2019.
City council has since budgeted significant new spending to help boost protection, allocating $5.67 million over the next four years as part of the 2020-2023 multi-year budget.
2 offers on vacant schools
HDC also touted its work in scouting out vacant former school properties that are offered to municipalities before hitting the market.
Giustizia said there are “active offers of purchase” on two former school properties and planning has begun for those sites, though he stressed there is a long way to go before building affordable housing.
“Land is king. You can’t do this stuff without land, and land is so scarce right now, especially inner-city land,” he said.
“We can’t see lands that the public has paid for, that are no longer able to be used for their intended purpose, not first be reconsidered for another public need. For me, man oh man, if we can get those lands converted for affordable housing development, then we’re golden.”
source:The LondonFreePress
