United Way Greater Toronto Announces ’10 in 10′ Community Hubs with $100 Million Commitment

United Way Greater Toronto (UWGT) has launched the new Community Real Estate Initiative and the commitment to raise and invest over $100 million.

Funds will support the creation of 10 more community hubs over the next decade and the development of new pathways for community organizations to acquire secure and sustainable space.

With population growth transforming the GTA and rising rental costs creating a housing affordability crisis that also affects essential community service spaces, the initiative aims to increase community real estate in neighbourhoods where services are at risk of displacement, or even closure.

Other key elements of the initiative include distributing $1.8 million in grants and small capital funds to support pre-development costs such as feasibility studies, exploring alternative financing such as community loans for organizations in the GTA to acquire or revitalize spaces and building community sector capacity with professional development programs in collaboration with the Infrastructure Institute.

In partnership with the City of Toronto, work is underway for a new hub location in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood. The goal of breaking ground on 10 new hubs also includes developing UWGT’s first community hubs in Peel and York Region, bringing together social services, healthcare, recreational spaces, and government services all under one roof.

“United Way Greater Toronto’s goal is to create, facilitate, and support community real estate infrastructure that sustains and empowers neighbourhoods across the region for the long-term,” said Ruth Crammond, vice president of community infrastructure at United Way Greater Toronto. “In our fight against poverty, we are leveraging the power of philanthropy, partnerships, and people to ensure equitable community development and secure essential services, so everyone has the building blocks to thrive.”

Components of the Community Real Estate Initiative respond to recommendations identified in the recent study, Essential Spaces: Real (Solutions) for Community Needs, which among other findings, also determines that occupancy costs for rented spaces across the GTA have increased as much as 57 per cent over the last 10 years.

“The GTA’s community services sector is critical to supporting the well-being of residents, but its ability to do so depends on having stable, accessible spaces,” said Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto. “Our research shows that there are serious challenges in securing suitable, affordable real estate. This announcement marks a significant step forward in creating a more coordinated, comprehensive approach to community real estate, ensuring that vital services have the space we all need.”