In the heart of Parkdale a small band of tenants and housing advocates are celebrating a singular yet monumental victory in the ongoing battle with gentrification — the purchase of a rooming house.The Neighbourhood Land Trust, a charity, has become the proud owner of a licensed rooming house on Maynard Ave. near King St. W, scooped from Toronto’s white hot real estate market thanks primarily to $1.5 million in city funds.The sale — the first of its kind and made possible through a pilot project designed to preserve rooming house stock — means the home’s 15 units will remain affordable for almost 100 years.“Most Parkdale residents have lived here for a long time and plan to continue to live here, and to make that possible we need housing that is long-term,” said Joshua Barndt, executive director of The Neighbourhood Land Trust. “As a community we have proven that we have the capacity and ability to take properties off the market,” Barndt said. “We have proven there is another way to own housing.” City council signed off on the project in 2018. The one-time amount came through Section 37 deals. That money is given to the city by developers in exchange for a bend in zoning rules — such as the height allowed on buildings in a certain area — and is meant to be spent on projects that benefit the local community, such as parks, art, and recreation centres.Read more: Toronto’s housing crisis sparks conversation about illegal rooming houses Rooming house pilot aims to give Parkdale tenants ‘fighting chance’Opinion | Edward Keenan: Rooming house fund is one small step in the right housing directionThe idea was championed by Gord Perks (Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park). “The goal of the pilot program was to enable local non-profit organizations to buy a rooming house before it’s sold to someone else and all the tenants get evicted,” said Perks in a release Wednesday ...
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