Like many cities across Canada, Hamilton, Ontario is grappling with a housing crisis. And, as the city prepares for a substantial investment in its transit system, chances are the crisis will only get worse. Here’s the thing: When done right, transit development has potential to do great things: It can contribute to environmental sustainability, economic vitality, and improved quality of life for residents. But it can also trigger the displacement and exclusion of vulnerable populations, increasing the cost of housing and reducing the supply of affordable units where we need them most.
The Hamilton Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing (HTOAH) Lab was formed in March 2023 to explore potential solutions to this challenge. Led by Social Innovation (SI) Canada, the initiative– which worked throughout 2023-2024 – brought together an esteemed and diverse partnership that included the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Hamilton Community Foundation, City of Hamilton, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative, Hamilton is Home (representing 90% of the local affordable housing developers), Hamilton Community Benefits Network and others.
The aim was to reach a shared vision and action in answer to the question: How can we develop financing solutions and innovative funding pathways to create new – and preserve existing – community housing in transit-oriented communities in Hamilton? The hope was to also inform the development of similar projects in municipalities across Canada.
The financing solution, that was co-created with the housing providers and other lab participants, was designed in January 2024 to address the housing providers’ stated needs and modelled on specific projects that had been identified at that time. Those specific needs included flexible lines of credit for development, acquisition, and construction, and low- interest term loans when CMHC financing is not accessible.
The “fund” uses a blended capital approach with non-interest-bearing first- loss seed investment from CMHC via SI Canada, lower interest investment from the social finance fund, and fixed income-like returns for philanthropic and institutional investors. It works in tandem with alongside Hamilton’s the City’s granting program. Using a syndicated model, the fund invests alongside the grants, expanding and diversifying the available funding and financing for non-market housing along transit lines. The Fund is expected to launch in 2025.
This case study was developed to provide an assessment of the HTOAH Lab with a focus on lessons learned. Some questions the study explored include: how effective was the Lab in its ability to inspire the city of Hamilton to make equitable transit-oriented housing a priority? How successful was the lab in demonstrating its potential for scalability and replicability? How difficult was it to collaborate with a host of diverse organizations, balancing both unique and shared priorities? What role did SI Canada play in helping the group rise above potential discordance toward working together successfully?
You can read the case study here. Want to learn more about the Equitable Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing project? Click here