A Leg Up

Spotlight Development shines with innovative affordable housing concept

BY TED McINTYRE WITH SHERRY LARJANI

WHEN SHERRY LARJANI closed on a land deal at the intersection of Lawrence Avenue and Black Creek Drive in mid-March, she was admittedly lured by the intriguing location.

“It was at the intersection of two major streets, with Black Creek basically being a highway,” says the president of Spotlight Development. “But then I started driving around the area and saw the kind of buildings and housing there, and how much those properties were, in my opinion, distressed, and how outdated the rental buildings were. It was in need of revitalization. That’s when the idea came to me—to devote the entire property to a transformative affordable housing community. Part of it will provide housing for families with low to moderate incomes that fall below $75,000 annually.”

Larjani is not unaccustomed to challenging industry convention. Last fall at the BILD Awards, Spotlight and Urban Capital Property Group shared an Angelo DelZotto Fearless Innovator Award for Reina Condominiums, a project led by the first all-female development team in Canada.

This one is no less ambitious, replacing a shopping plaza and parking lot with approximately 1,470two-, three- and four-bedroom units in a one-of-a-kind development.

OHB: WHAT WAS THE GENESIS OF THIS PROJECT?

SHERRY LARJANI: “I’ve always been interested in doing affordable housing projects and have been doing a lot of research over the past two years. But when there isn’t a lot of will from the municipality or the people involved, you sort of give up on the idea— especially when there aren’t enough subsidies to allow you to do it.

“So I had to get creative. During my research I discovered the idea of crosssubsidizing. The concept isn’t new, but doing it on the scale we’re doing— serving as many different groups and working with as many partners as we are—is new. It’s usually based on an individual partner and dedicating a portion of the units to them. But for this project we’re aiming at reaching 70% affordable housing—rental or ownership—with the other 30% serving the remainder of the units.

“This is about helping people get to the next level—showing them that ownership can still be achieved by people with lower incomes. I think this can help tackle the poverty issue in the process.”

“We’ve brought in different not-forprofits who have been doing this for a long time. They have the passion, the resources and the energy. But you need the proper partners on the development side to help you get to where you want to go. And their involvement will ensure a range of community benefits and service opportunities, including access to youth programming, food services, clothing and grooming services, childcare, as well as employment, financial and senior services—all resulting in a healthy, supportive and sustainable neighbourhood.

“And we’re not just calling it inclusive, but actually doing it—working with segmentsthat are mostly overlooked and underserved, such as the Black community, the Indigenous community, veterans and newcomers to Canada. We’re trying to gear this community toward groups with varying thresholds of affordability.

“Habitat for Humanity can really serve the families that require the deepest level of affordable housing. And then there’s BlackNorth, who work with Black families who not only require affordable units but are often part of larger, multi-generational families. So we have to pay attention to that from a design standpoint as well.

“And through WoodGreen Community Sevices, Toronto’s largest non-municipal affordable housing provider, we will be dedicating clusters of rental housing units for those who need a safe place to live, such as youth and seniors and battered women. WoodGreen will also be providing our daycare/nightcare. The nightcare is another aspect that’s really been missing. Not everybody works 9 to 5. The family providers are often shift workers, many of whom have to leave their kids, who are often underage, at 6 p.m. to work the night shift. That exposes kids to things they wouldn’t, and shouldn’t, otherwise be exposed to if they had proper care.

“And for families that might not be able to qualify for Habitat for Humanity, we have our next partner, Trillium Housing. With Trillium we are working with people who can afford close to market value but need a little bit of help. Trillium effectively postpones receipt of its share of project surplus through providing home purchasers with an innovative program that offers a payment-free mortgage of 25% of a home’s value. We’re actually repeating some of that through Spotlight’s own not-for-profit arm.

“The targets are: 10% dedicated to housing for Black Canadians; 10% to Indigenous Canadians; 10% to Habitat for Humanity; 10% to Trillium Housing;15% to WoodGreen Community Services; and 45% will be serving all communities, including a portion dedicated to housing for veterans, through Spotlight Affordable Ventures.”

YOU’RE PROVIDING A LEG UP, BUT TRYING TO BUILD A COMMUNITY AT THE SAME TIME.

“That’s the goal—to create a an inclusive and affordable community that’s serving its members, and to show how developers can still make sense of a project with the proper not-for-profit partners in place.

“But we are also trying to help people succeed as homeowners. It’s one thing to create affordable housing with lower mortgages and lower rents. But the reality is that with the cost of groceries and other things in life, people often

have to make the choice between paying for their rent/mortgage and paying for their food or their clothing or something else. That’s why this community is looking at providing all the services that its resdients need, so that we can help them be successful at becoming—and remaining— homeowners or renters.

“And we’re not pocketing any of the profits from the market units we’re selling. Rather, we’re cost-subsidizing it back into the project to serve the deepest levels of affordability.”

YOU’RE NOT SCRIMPING ON THE DESIGN EITHER.

“Absolutely not. Search out the architect, Sweeny&Co., and look at the work they’ve done, how amazing their buildings look. We want to make sure that our building looks like any highcalibre building that we as developers would create around the city. It will not be built on the cheap side because we’re offering it as affordable.”

DO YOU EXPECT THIS TO CATCH ON WITH OTHER DEVELOPERS?

“I get it. This is not where developers’ bread is buttered as far as making our businesses work. But many are already doing very impactful work and meaningful projects. That said, I’d love to see others dedicate some of their philanthropic activities to doing more of this kind of project. We’re the ones who are creating and selling the expensive houses in the city, so why wouldn’t we at least give something back to our communities in return, and where it is most needed? And while there aren’t any awards dedicated to creative solutions in affordable housing, I think there’s a shift happening with respect to making a change and being an innovator and stepping up to do something different.”

HOW SOON CAN YOU GET STARTED ON THIS PROJECT? “The site plan application was made April 30. We’re hoping that the planning department will understand the importance of this project and help us get to an approval a little bit faster.