Rebuild plan for Toronto public housing complex moves forward, 3 years after ceiling collapse
Swansea Mews has been vacant since it was deemed unsafe in 2022
A Toronto city council committee has approved a proposal to redevelop a west end public housing complex that was condemned three years ago because of a ceiling collapse.
The planning and housing committee decided at its Thursday meeting that it will recommend that city council seek federal funding for the "initial development proposal" to rebuild Swansea Mews, a Toronto Community Housing Corporation property located at the intersection of the Queensway and Windermere Avenue.
Tenants were forced to leave Swansea Mews in May 2022 after a ceiling collapsed, injuring a woman. The complex was marked for demolition after the collapse, when engineers found all of the buildings unsafe for habitation, and it has since been vacant.
The redevelopment proposal calls for not only the replacement of the 154 rent-geared-to-income units that made up the original complex, but also the building of 550 to 700 new units, according to a city staff report from last month.
This redevelopment will include "three residential development blocks, a large open space, a new road network and an overall design that will promote community safety and sound planning principles," the report reads.
Coun. Gord Perks, chair of the planning and housing committee, said the approval is "a giant step forward."
"This is going from talking about how one day we'll build something there to actually having a proposal … We're off to the races now," he said.
Funding talks to happen after federal election
If city council approves the proposal, which Perks said he is confident will happen, the city will need to secure federal funding first before applying for a builder's permit to allow the site to be demolished.
But the timeline on securing federal funding is unclear, he said, as the city will need to wait until after the federal election to engage in funding conversations.
"Nobody can guess what the housing program will look like after the election," Perks said.
The land the property is on will also have to be rezoned to build the three residential development blocks. Rezoning will require public consultation with those living in the surrounding neighbourhood.
Perks said the city will work to secure federal funding and change zoning permissions in parallel. The city has also begun conversations with former tenants of Swansea Mews to get their input in the design of the new community.
Everybody who lived in the property has a right to return at similar rents and similar unit sizes to what they had before the city condemned the building, Perks said. But the exact mix of rent-geared-to-income units versus those at market rates depends on federal funding.
Once shovels are in the ground, he said it may take about two to three years before tenants move in.
The proposal will be considered by city council on April 23.
With files from Tyler Cheese