Ville de Montréal

The Montréal abordable initiative: creating additional affordable housing

Last updated April 20, 2023

Reading time: 4 min

The city wants to increase the construction and preservation of affordable housing in a sustainable manner. To achieve this, it must develop new partnerships and acquire innovative development tools.

The Montréal abordable initiative, through new actions, aims to accelerate the construction and preservation of affordable housing.

It relies on the concerted action of dozens of organizations recognized for their expertise in the real estate, finance and social economy sectors. Several municipal departments and boroughs are taking part in the work and the implementation of the actions.

A shared declaration for a more affordable and resilient Montréal

In April 2023, members of the advisory committee issued their interim report updating Montrealers on the progress made since the initiative was launched in the summer of 2022. The committee members are pooling their efforts to ensure access to an abundant, affordable and sustainable supply of residential housing that meets all the needs of residents. The report also lays the groundwork for new actions that will accelerate the construction and preservation of affordable housing.

ReportChantier Montréal abordable - Pour une ville abordable et résiliente_Rapport final (in French)

PDF 993 KB

Download

Concrete projects already in place

Acquisition of 40 affordable housing units

April 2023: Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie

SHDM continues to enlarge its affordable housing stock with the acquisition of a 40-unit property in Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie. This transaction will ensure that rents in the building remain affordable in the long term. With this new acquisition, SHDM now is the owner of 4,887 affordable housing units across the island of Montréal.

Purchase and renovation of three residential buildings

December 2022: Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles

The city is granting an interest-free loan of $5.135 million over a 35-year period to the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM) with which to acquire three buildings located in Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles (RDP-PAT). This loan makes it possible to preserve 86 apartments intended for vulnerable households in the current situation of housing shortages. The OMHM will renovate and upgrade them, allowing several families to acquire suitable housing.

Development of social housing: 93 new lots designated for affordable social housing

December 2022: Anjou, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, CND-NDG, LaSalle, Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, Saint-Léonard and Verdun

The city has identified 93 new lots to prioritize for social and other housing purposes. They are in Anjou, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, LaSalle, Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles, Saint-Léonard and Verdun. This addition brings to 569 the total number of lots allocated for these purposes.

A target of 60% affordable properties

October 2022: Second lot of land in the Namur-Hippodrome eco-district

For the second lot of land it has put up for sale in the future Namur-Hippodrome eco-district, the city will require that 60% of the properties be affordable. Interested companies must commit to offering these properties under the Pour une métropole abordable program. This requirement will allow households to purchase a property at 80% of its value, and preserve its affordability on subsequent resales over a period of at least 30 years. A public bidding process is open until December 20, 2023 on the SÉAO platform.

Acquisition of 79 affordable housing units

September 2022: Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie and Montréal-Nord

The SHDM is expanding its affordable housing stock with the acquisition of two buildings in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie and Montréal-Nord, areas where demand is very high. These acquisitions will ensure the long-term affordability of 79 additional units, more than half of which can house families.

Acquisition and rehabilitation of 47 affordable housing units

September 2022: Lachine

Renovating housing while maintaining affordable rents is the goal the Société locative d’investissement et de développement social (SOLIDES) set itself by acquiring a 47-unit building in Lachine. To finance the $7.96 million project, the NPO turned to the city and to major lenders. The municipal contribution of more than $2.33 million is subject to certain conditions, including the long-term maintenance of rental costs and the completion of the work without displacing tenants.

Namur-Hippodrome eco-district: an entire lot dedicated to affordable housing

September 2022

The first lot developed on the former racetrack will be 100% affordable. The city, which owns the site, is reserving a large lot for sale to non-profit housing organizations. This first step marks the beginning of the Namur-Hippodrome eco-district project, which will be transformed into a family-friendly, mobility-oriented district. Eventually, the district will have more than 12,500 housing units, including 6,000 on the site of the former racetrack.

Advisory Committee: joint action and expertise

The Montréal abordable initiative is overseen by the following advisory committee:

The Bâtir son quartier technical resources group
Broccolini Real Estate Group, Inc.
The Caisse d’économie solidaire Desjardins
The Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ
The Institut de développement urbain du Québec (IDU)
The New Market Funds investment fund management company
The Prével real estate company
The Société de développement Angus
The Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM)
The Société locative d’investissement et de développement social (SOLIDES)
The Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logements étudiants (UTILE)

Co-chairs

Benoit Dorais, Executive committee vice-chair, responsible for housing, real estate strategy and legal affairs
Édith Cyr, Executive Director of the Bâtir son quartier technical resources group
Roger Plamondon, President of Broccolini Real Estate Group, Inc.

ReportChantier Montréal abordable - Déclaration commune pour une ville abordable et résiliente (in French)

PDF 1 MB