In October 2006, the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario announced the AHP – Brownfields Initiative, a program designed to address the lack of affordable housing in older, urban areas. A minimum of 300 units under the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program (AHP) have been set aside for construction specifically on cleaned-up brownfield sites. Brownfield sites are former industrial or commercial properties that are underutilized, derelict or vacant. When cleaned-up, these sites make ideal locations for affordable housing projects, as they are often located in downtown cores close to transit, services and other amenities.
Municipalities across Ontario are invited to submit proposals for affordable housing projects to be built on brownfield sites in their community. The funding will help pay for the clean-up of the brownfield sites and the construction of new affordable housing on the remediated sites.
Initial funding is targeted to development-ready AHP projects — on brownfields sites — that are approved by municipal council. Units will be awarded based on a number of criteria, including the strategy proposed for remediating the site.
Projects approved under the AHP Brownfields Initiative may be eligible for a number of incentives, including:
- Up to $70,000 per unit under the Rental and Supportive component of the AHP;
- Financial incentives from municipal Community Investment Plans (CIP) such as grants for environmental studies, environmental remediation, and the waiving of development charges;
- Funding from the Ministry of Finance Brownfield Financial Tax Incentive Program (BFTIP);
- Support of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) in obtaining environmental approvals, including any necessary work with the Ministry of the Environment.
Application package (196K) were sent to all Service Managers on February 20, 2007.
Applications will be accepted by the Municipal Services Office (MSO) in the region in which the project is located until April 13, 2007 at 4:00 p.m.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing will evaluate all submissions received by the closing date and will choose the best projects according to the established evaluation criteria. Successful project applications will be announced as soon as the review is complete.
The Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program comprises a commitment of $301 million from each of the two senior levels of government. In total, the federal, provincial and municipal governments will invest at least $734 million in the program, which will provide affordable housing for 20,000 households in Ontario.