City Council Approves Reena’s Third Intentional Community Building

On July 19, 2022, Toronto City Council voted unanimously to move forward with the Reena Affordable Housing Project at 155-165 Elm Ridge. A housing model that provides independence, affordability and accessibility while offering 24/7 around-the-clock resources for its residents.

This truly is a life-changing opportunity for many families.

Thanks to the leadership of the Frankfort Family, we have an opportunity to accelerate this project and break ground in the Fall of 2023.  

Reena would like to thank the many people and organizations who supported us along the process, as we try to do our part in providing housing for individuals with developmental disabilities: 

• City of Toronto Council and the North York Council – Recognized the need, supported us early and ensured that additional housing would be ready as soon as possible. 
• Councillor Mike Colle – From the moment we proposed the development to him, Councillor Colle understood the need, assisted us every step of the way, introduced us to community members and leaders, hosted several community consultations, and assisted us every step of the way to get to this wonderful result. 

• Mayor John Tory who has been, and continues to be, a strong proponent of Reena and our Supported Housing efforts.   
• The Concept 2 Keys (C2K) team at the City of Toronto – An incredible initiative at the city that led to reduced planning time resulted in efficient outcomes for the whole process. 
• The neighbours and the community at Elm Ridge Drive – Very supportive of the plan from the get-go. Public consultations were well attended and were able to have collaborative conversations about the current needs and the solutions this building will provide. 
• The Oakwood-Vaughan (OV) Community Organization – Supportive community engagement from the get-go. They wanted to know what we were doing, and how they could get involved and become key players in Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) solutions lab on mutual inclusion. 
• Toronto Housing Secretariat – For their early and significant support through the City of Toronto Open Door Affordable Housing Program, which allowed us to hit the ground running. 

• Toronto Community Housing – For working with their neighbours to ensure deeply affordable housing with supports could be built by other agencies. 
• CMHC Seed Grant Funds – For supporting Reena with grants which allowed early-stage studies to be completed. 

Background 

In 2012 Reena completed a major new innovative residential development project. Located in the Lebovic Campus on Bathurst Street in the City of Vaughan, the Reena Community Residence is a midrise apartment building accommodating 60 self-contained rental apartments housing 84 individuals with developmental disabilities.  

Following this housing project, in 2019 construction began on the Lou Fruitman Reena Residence, a 79-unit apartment building with 138 beds spread across six floors, located at 919 Clark Avenue West in Thornhill, which was completed in June 2021. 

In view of the success of both these residences and the continued demand for housing, the Reena Board of Directors has decided to develop a third Reena Community Residence: The Frankfort Family Reena Residence. 

This new building will be modelled on the success of the Lou Fruitman Reena Residence and Reena Community Residence (opened in 2012). 

The Frankfort Family Reena Residence will be the largest residential project in Reena’s 50-year history.

The building will:

• Be located on Elm Ridge Drive in Toronto’s upper Forest Hill neighbourhood.
• Become home to an estimated 160 individuals.
• Include units designed for independent or shared living arrangements and specialized units for complex care.
• Have floors designed to serve people with mental health conditions.
• Feature many amenities, including respite suites, programming spaces, a gymnasium, a garden, and an underground parking garage.

Sincerely,

Bryan Keshen, CEO