What to know
- Dream, Kilmer and Tricon are partnering with Canada Soccer to provide affordable housing for eligible athletes, coaches and support staff at Cherry House in Toronto.
- The 855-unit purpose-built rental community will include 257 affordable homes, with a portion reserved through the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario.
- Developers say the initiative builds on the momentum of Toronto hosting the World Cup and aims to strengthen the city’s long-term sports legacy.
- The program is intended to help address the high cost of living that often forces athletes and youth coaches out of major training hubs.
Real-estate developers have partnered with Canada Soccer to deliver a new housing program that supports the sport’s legacy in Toronto through affordable housing for athletes and staff.
The partnership is led by Dream, Kilmer and Tricon, developers that have led other Toronto purpose-built rental communities.
The newly-announced project involves a purpose-built rental community at Cherry House in the Canary Landing neighbourhood, with 855 units available, 257 of them designated as affordable housing. Part of these units will be specifically designated to eligible individuals at Canada Soccer, AFC Toronto, and the North Toronto Nitros through the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO).
Initiative builds on soccer momentum
Andrew Joyner, a senior managing director and head of multifamily at Tricon, told Now Toronto that the developer company aims to create complete communities that offer an opportunity for essential workers to stay in the city they work in.
“In the case of Cherry House, this was a partnership with the City of Toronto, the province of Ontario, and the federal government. And we’re really proud of these because in many ways they become blueprints for future government programs to build rental housing that integrate an affordable component,” he said.
The initiative builds on the sports momentum observed in Toronto this year, after the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games took place months ago, and as the city hosts the World Cup for the first time in its history.
“What’s been profound this year is this recognition that sport has the power to lift and unite Canadians to reinforce our national pride, and it’s because it serves as such an important tool in our communities for young people, but also at the national level,” he shared.
“It’s also a really important after-school program for a lot of working parents, and so providing housing for youth soccer coaches and community leaders, we thought, was a really important thing,” he added.
Cherry House supports sporting initiatives for youth
As explained by Joyner, many training and competition opportunities in Canada related to the professional sporting pathways are located in major cities, in which the cost of living is high. This means that many athletes, coaches and support staff are unable to live and work in these cities.
That is where the Cherry House project comes in, offering a certain portion of its affordable units to these athletes and staff to support a closure of this gap.
“As I reflect on my own childhood, sports were absolutely the biggest thing in my life. It was what I did almost every day after school. It allowed my parents to raise us in a way they didn’t get out of work to pick us up after school,” Joyner shared.
“I think about this as an opportunity to allow youth coaches to stay in the city to mentor and coach, and grow young people again.”
Cherry House is located in the Canary District, which was originally developed as an athlete housing site for the 2015 Pan Am Games. This new partnership also hopes to build on that connection, and on the push for more affordable housing, which is being supported by all three levels of government in the city.
