“In Ottawa we have government programs to fund new affordable housing developments, but none that cater to the acquisition of existing housing,” explains Mike Bulthuis, executive director of Ottawa Community Land Trust (OCLT).

“Our aim is to preserve affordability by acquiring at-risk rental homes and placing them under community ownership. But acquisitions take a blending of capital, so the challenge is gathering the financing fast enough to secure the properties.”

Unlike private developers who can easily compete in a hot real estate market, land trusts and non-profits usually need to secure government funding, raise money from investors, and put all the pieces in place before they’re able to place an offer.

Earlier this year, OCLT made its first attempt to purchase a property. With support from the City of Ottawa, community residents, and Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB)’s Preserve and Protect Guarantee Program, OCLT announced the success of its acquisition – a six-unit rental property on Kirkwood Avenue in Carlington (pictured above).

Addressing the gap in affordable housing funding

Back in 2020, VCIB launched the Preserve and Protect Guarantee Program in partnership with Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust – a first-of-its-kind impact investment program that would help the land trust access necessary funds to acquire at-risk affordable rental buildings.

“Supporting the land trust movement is key to protect housing affordability,” said Eric Visser, VCIB’s Director of Commercial Real Estate.

“Our aim with this program was to leverage VCIB’s capabilities as a financial institution to reduce costs, timelines and other barriers for land trusts to access capital – including the amount that would typically be required as equity to secure bank financing.”

For OCLT’s first purchase, Mike was glad to have found a values-aligned banking partner;
“We were very grateful for VCIB’s willingness to work with us when things were new and when hiccups came up. The impression that I had of VCIB coming into this was that it’s a very values-driven financial institution, that comes through in their work.”

Now that their first property has been secured, OCLT is working on its next big step: growing an acquisitions fund through a community bond campaign.

Through the land trust’s Housing Forever Bonds, managed by Tapestry Community Capital, OCLT will leverage its community of supporters to continue to purchase and preserve affordable rental housing in Ottawa.

“These are not donations, these are loans that will be paid back offering a financial return accompanied by social impact. So we see our community bonds as a really important strategy grounded in community engagement,” said Mike.

“But we’re also trying to build a community movement. If each of us are working alone it’s really hard to make a dent in the housing crisis, but if each of us brings something – even a small amount – we can actually raise quite a bit and use that to make acquisitions.”

Over time, OCLT’s portfolio will facilitate the leverage needed for the land trust to grow and collectively expand Ottawa’s affordable housing supply.

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Learn more about VCIB’s social purpose real estate financing in our website. If interested in chatting with VCIB about your financing needs, get in touch.

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St. Jude Community Homes provides permanent, safe, affordable housing for people living with mental illness. A non-profit mental health agency, St. Jude Community Homes operates four residential sites with self-contained and affordable rental units in various Toronto neighbourhoods. By creating a sense of community and offering support when needed, they have created a space where residents not only build their independence but thrive.

The St. Jude Community Homes Gerrard Street site in Toronto’s east end opened in 2007. After many years of successful operation, in 2020 the landlord indicated that they were looking to sell the building. A deep feeling of uncertainty took root as their lease was coming due, and the organization was not in a financial position to make an offer. That was set to change though, thanks to ingenuity, hard work and the right partnerships.

With the support of their board, staff and residents, plus the guidance of a development consultant, St. Jude Community Homes successfully applied to the City of Toronto’s Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition (MURA) program. They are a perfect fit for MURA, which is intended to help not-for-profit housing providers buy their at-risk buildings and preserve existing affordable rental housing in the city. In addition to MURA funding, the city also granted a 99-year residential property tax exemption on the Gerrard Street East building.

Buying a building in a hot real estate market is not easy, particularly if your focus is typically managing a care agency. “When trying to acquire our building, we found the expertise of a development consultant to be invaluable,” says Carol Zoulalian, Executive Director at St. Jude Community Homes. “He helped us find grants, ensured our finances were in order, made sure our financing application was supported by the right documentation, and generally helped me and our board navigate some very unfamiliar waters.”

Carol then contacted Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB) to finance the purchase costs that were outstanding even after the significant MURA contribution. “I’d heard about VCIB through our non-profit housing network,” Carol added. “Once we started working together, VCIB’s experience with the sector and their people-first approach became very clear.”

Chloe Wong, a VCIB Commercial Real Estate Account Manager, underscores the bank’s commitment to advancing affordable housing: “We want to make it easier for housing providers to continue doing their work and making a difference in peoples’ lives.”

Rising interest rates and other factors complicated the application process, resulting in timeline changes that might have derailed their opportunity to purchase the building. “These deals can be a lot of work for a lender, because non-profits and co-ops often need smaller more flexible loans,” Chloe adds. “We understand the sector’s needs, and we don’t shy away from putting in that extra effort.”

VCIB’s willingness to consider the MURA grant funding as equity was another key element of St. Jude Community Homes’ successful lending application. “As an impact-driven lender, we’re familiar with the granting process and the non-profit landscape, plus we’ll work directly with funders,” notes Chloe. “That allows us to see grant money as a source of equity when crunching the numbers. Not all lenders look at it that way,” she adds.

VCIB provided St. Jude Community Homes with a fixed-rate term mortgage of $1.2 million to finalize the purchase of the building at 1845 Gerrard Street East, Toronto. The sale closed in early September 2023.

“It was so wonderful to be able to share this news with our residents,” says Carol. “The teamwork this process required was unbelievable, and we are proud that we did it.” Closing the door on renting, St. Jude Community Homes was able to preserve the 20 units at their Gerrard Street site as affordable housing in perpetuity.

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Learn more about VCIB’s social purpose real estate financing in our website. If interested in chatting with VCIB about your financing needs, get in touch.

Today, the co-operative housing movement is entering a new phase. As those original mortgages mature and operating agreements expire, many co-ops are looking to refinance their mortgage.   

In 2014, Phoenix Housing Co-operative (pictured above) was the third co-op in Canada to refinance their mortgage for the first time, with help from Canada Housing Federation (CHF).   

“Refinancing a mortgage can be an overwhelming task, especially for those who’ve never done it before,” explains Tanya Taylor, Phoenix Housing Co-operative’s coordinator, pictured right.   

“The first step is to get all the documents needed starting with preservation funding, which is a grant that then helps you get a building condition assessment and energy audit. After you have these documents, you’ll have a better understanding of how much money your co-op needs.”   

This year, Tanya and the team at Phoenix took the next step in their financing journey by renewing their mortgage through Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB).   

“Getting all the documents ready can be daunting, that’s where I found VCIB to be very personable” Tanya explains.   

“Whenever I had a question my account manager answered right away, and she gave me a step-by-step checklist of what I needed which made things very easy for me. Many coordinators have told me that this process took them a year, and I re-iterate, it took us three months.”   

A values-aligned partnership  

VCIB is part of the Vancity Group, a group of values-based financial institutions that use finance as a tool to drive positive impact and accelerate the delivery of affordable housing across Canada. Since 2009, Vancity Group has funded investments of more than $1.48 billion to support affordable housing across Canada. And VCIB’s parent company, Vancity Credit Union, has been supporting Canada’s cooperative movement for decades.   

“Today the need for more affordable housing options is greater than ever, and housing co-operatives are critical,” said Eric Visser, Director of Commercial Real Estate at VCIB. “They provide not only a more affordable option but also foster an incredible sense of community, so offering tailored financing to support co-ops is an important part of our mission.”   

Since co‑ops charge their members only enough to cover costs, repairs, and reserves, they can offer housing that is much more affordable than an average private sector rental.  

Phoenix has 59 renovated 3-bedroom townhouses available at market rent, for the low price of 760 dollars a month – with a few members paying reduced monthly rent based on income. As Tanya explains, these 3-bedroom townhouses are well suited for families or young couples starting a family;  

“Our co-op is a family-oriented co-op. With the rising cost of housing right now, it is very difficult for families (specially starting out families) to be able to afford a home, let alone 3-bedroom units like these ones.”  

For Tanya, one of the most rewarding parts of working at Phoenix is the community they have built, and she looks forward to seeing how the children continue to grow.   

“I’ve been here over 13 years, and the children that I met that were 8 or 9 are now adults and getting their own units! And they’re all trying to stay within the community.”  

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Learn more about VCIB’s social purpose real estate financing in our website. If interested in chatting with VCIB about your financing needs, get in touch.

For housing to become more affordable and accessible, systemic changes must take place. But the government and the market on their own can’t solve the complex housing problems we face.

Many land trusts and non-profit organizations are making a difference by preserving or creating new affordable homes. But before they do that, they’re often stuck with the same old problem: accessing financing fast enough to be able to quickly react to a competitive housing market.

Other entities, like housing co-operatives, face their own financing hurdles. Housing co-operatives are not a new concept by any means, they have existed in Canada for decades offering a middle ground between owning and renting – housing tenure that doesn’t require a down payment.

Since they operate on a break-even basis, housing co-ops are often much more affordable than market rentals. But because most co-ops were built in the ’70s and ’80s, the cost of needed repairs can be prohibitive and challenge a co-op’s existing level of affordability.

“When searching for financing, housing co-operatives tend to go to CHF Canada, which provides valuable advice and resources for co-ops. After consultation CHF Canada usually refers them to impact lenders like VCIB for financing,” says Eric Visser, Director of Commercial Real Estate at Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB).

“Since co-ops are often searching for smaller and more flexible loans, they struggle to get support from big banks as it can be a lot of work for a lender. But VCIB doesn’t shy away from putting that extra effort.”

A values-aligned financing partner

Born from Vancity Credit Union’s co-operative roots and values, VCIB offers financing tailored for impact-driven organizations to preserve and scale Canada’s affordable housing stock.

“We’re the only bank in Canada that has a 100% impact mandate, which means we only provide financing to organizations and projects driving positive change,” says Eric.

Two years ago, VCIB and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) announced a first-of-its-kind agreement to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing across Canada, providing financing for more than 1,100 units of affordable homes in 2021.

VCIB’s long-standing relationship with CMHC enables them to work together to provide housing co-operatives and affordable housing developers with uniquely structured loans that meet their specific financing needs. One example is VCIB’s financing for Innisfree Housing Co-op.

Innisfree Housing Co-op needed financing to make urgent repairs on the property. Unlike many competitors, VCIB allowed the team at Innisfree to allocate their funds where they deemed them to be most important.

“We wouldn’t have been able to offer our decent home standard, if we had restrictions on how we used the loan. I can’t emphasize enough how important that is,” said Don Jones, Innisfree’s onsite property manager.

More recently, VCIB supported Union Co-operative’s purchase of two apartment buildings to preserve the affordability of the buildings’ 58 units in perpetuity.

“The financing Union Co-op required was very unique and required a tailored solution. We dove into the details and really helped structure the loan in a way that was flexible for the borrower,” said Chloe Wong, Commercial Account Manager at VCIB.

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Learn more about VCIB’s social purpose real estate financing in our website. If interested in chatting with VCIB about your financing needs, get in touch.

An established community with many long-term tenants, the Lancaster buildings have 58 two-bedroom units. Union Co-operative plans to add another two accessible apartments within the existing buildings, and to undertake projects that reduce the buildings’ environmental impacts and energy consumption.

More than 200 individuals who live, work, or have a connection to Waterloo Region have chosen to become members of Union Co-operative. Members were able to invest in the purchase of the Lancaster buildings.

In addition to member investments, a number of impact investors came on board to support the purchase: Waterloo Region Community Foundation, Lyle S. Hallman Foundation, Canadian Co-operative Investment Fund, Vancity Community Foundation, Atkinson Foundation, Fairmount Foundation, VERGE Capital, Bealight Foundation, Forthlane Partners, Nexus Church, Kelly and Mike Peasgood, and Allyson and Dave Kroetsch. By bringing together community members and impact investors to purchase this property, Union Co-operative has built a unique model to serve as Waterloo Region’s community land trust.

Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB) provided first mortgage financing of $8.45 million and helped the project secure additional impact investment funds from the Affordable Housing Accelerator Fund at Vancity Community Foundation. “We are grateful for the opportunity to work with VCIB, as they have a deep understanding of affordable housing and their values-based approach means they work with you to make these projects a success,” said Union Co-operative’s Executive Director, Sean Campbell.

Union Co-operative received an additional $1.5 million in fixed-interest bridge financing from the Canadian Co-operative Investment Fund (CCIF). This bridge financing allowed Union Co-operative to complete the purchase on market timelines and continue raising funds after closing.

The population of the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo area grew by 9.9% from 2016 to 2021. That growth, alongside galloping price increases in the housing market and recent inflationary pressures, has meant that the cost to rent a vacant two-bedroom unit in Kitchener has increased by 24% in the past year to $2,300 per month. While there are much-needed government programs to build new affordable units, there are currently no programs to preserve existing low-rent apartment units.

“Preserving affordability is just the first step,” said Campbell. “We’re excited to invite tenants to become co-op members, join the board, and collaborate on sustainable property improvement decisions.” The co-operative is also planning to create a rent relief fund, connect with community organizations to establish supports for tenants in need, and develop policies that will guide the intentional selection of tenants facing barriers to accessing housing. “Union Co-operative is working to make a difference in our community, and we’re thankful to our members, impact investors, funders, and VCIB for helping to make the acquisition of our first property a reality.”

Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) was the first foundation impact investor to join the project. “WRCF continues to focus on taking action to create and preserve affordable housing across our region,” said John Bowden, WRCF’s Director of Financial Services. “We applaud Union Co-operative for their innovative approach in our community and we are extremely pleased to be joined by other impact investors on this journey.”

“The partnership between Union Co-operative, impact investors, and Vancity Community Investment Bank is an inspirational example of what can be done to solve the affordability crisis,” said Jennifer Hutcheon, Vice President at VCIB. “I’m so pleased that VCIB could support this impactful deal, which will result in real—even life-changing— benefits to the individuals and families who call the Lancaster buildings home.”

Learn more about Union Co-operative and its commitment to preserving affordability in Waterloo Region at unionsd.coop. Details on the Vancity Group’s commitment to affordable housing and the Affordable Housing Accelerator Fund can be found on Rethink and vahaf.ca.

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About Union: Sustainable Development Co-operative (Union Co-operative)

Union Co-operative is working to buy residential and commercial properties in Waterloo Region for permanent affordability through community ownership. The co-operative was founded in response to rising rental rates in Waterloo Region that are becoming unaffordable for a growing share of residents and local businesses. Learn more about Union Co-operative at www.unionsd.coop.

About Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF)

Waterloo Region Community Foundation collaborates with partners to create sustainable, equitable and thriving communities. We connect regionally and locally, working with three cities and four townships – to include the people and places across our region. Together, we develop forward-thinking innovative solutions and seize opportunities to meet current and future needs of our community. We make philanthropy easy for individuals and companies to support organizations and issues they care about. WRCF is focused on Granting, Impact Investing and Convening to make measurable and sustainable impacts. Gifts are directed to WRCF’s endowed funds that drive positive change through grants with the income generated being distributed in partnership with Fundholders to support a wide range of charitable causes within our community. A portion of the endowed funds are also used for impact investments that deliver both financial returns as well as positive social or environmental outcomes. As a leading community-building organization we also work to amplify voices and issues of importance by convening conversations and sharing information, while approaching our work with an equity mindset.

About the Canadian Co-operative Investment Fund (CCIF)

The Canadian Co-operative Investment Fund is an impact investment fund created to support the capital needs of co-operatives across sectors, across Canada. CCIF provides debt, bridge financing, hybrid and equity financing for non-profit and for-profit co-operatives to start up and to help them grow. To find out more about CCIF and the financing available to help co-operatives, visit ccif.coop or email info@ccif.coop.

About Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB)

Vancity Community Investment Bank is an Ontario-based, Schedule I federally chartered bank and a subsidiary of the Vancity Group. As the only values-based bank in Canada, VCIB provides specialized financing solutions for impactful projects like social purpose real estate and clean energy projects. For purpose-driven businesses and organizations, VCIB offers banking, investing, and financing solutions tailor-made to increase their growth and impact. VCIB is a Certified B Corporation and a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. To learn more about our partnership-based approach to banking, visit vcib.ca, tweet us at @BankVancity and connect with us on LinkedIn.

Media Relations
mediarelations@vancity.com
T: 778-837-0394

Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust (PNLT) is Ontario’s first-ever community land trust, created to preserve land for affordable housing as well as affordable working spaces for nonprofits, social enterprises, and businesses run by new immigrants.

In 2017, the organization began monitoring at-risk affordable housing properties to purchase them when they came up for sale. However, this proved to be a difficult task.

Unlike private developers who can swiftly react to a hot real estate market, land trusts and non-profits usually need to secure government funding, raise money from investors, and put all the pieces in place before they’re able to place an offer on a property.

“Our biggest challenge [was] mobilizing financing to compete on the market. In some cases, we were successful in getting offers in, but then couldn’t get the funding together quickly enough,” said Joshua Barndt, PNLT Executive Director.

Innovative financing fills the gap needed to scale affordability

Against all odds, PNLT was able to purchase a 15-unit rooming house in 2019 with support from the City of Toronto, residents, and Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB).

“This exciting and impactful accomplishment got us thinking about what role the Bank could play in enabling more affordable housing acquisitions, and what other players we needed around the table. We began engaging with PNLT around ideas to leverage impact investments to streamline the fundraising and financing process so that they could respond faster to market opportunities,” said Trish Nixon, Managing Director of Commercial Impact Banking, VCIB.

In October 2020, VCIB and PNLT partnered to launch the Preserve and Protect Guarantee Program – a first-of-its-kind impact investment program that would help the Neighbourhood Land Trust rapidly acquire at-risk affordable rental buildings in Parkdale.

Through the program, VCIB accepts and holds funds from values-aligned investing organizations in Impact GICs, which are used to guarantee a portion of the financing facility made available for PNLT to purchase at-risk affordable rental properties as they are put up for sale.

The goal of the program was achieved in April 2021 when VCIB provided PNLT with an $8.5 million loan, supported by over $2.6M in guarantees from investors, to finance 100% of the purchase price of an at-risk 36-unit apartment building in Parkdale.

First-of-its-kind program becomes a tried-and-true financing model

“The innovation here was leveraging VCIB’s capabilities as a financial institution to reduce costs, timelines and other barriers for PNLT to access capital, including the amount that would typically be required as equity to secure bank financing. Ultimately though, participating impact investors were betting on PNLT’s ability to secure the necessary grants and long-term financing that would ensure the property remained permanently affordable and that they received their expected return on investment,” said Eric Visser, VCIB’s Senior Manager of Business Development, Commercial Real Estate.

“And it worked!”

A year after the property was purchased, PNLT was able to buy out their investors’ 30% equity through a grant from the City of Toronto’s Multi-Unit Rental Acquisition (MURA) program. The land trust refinanced the $8M+ Preserve & Protect Guarantee Program acquisition loan and replace it with a $2.79M conventional first mortgage with VCIB.

For Joshua, Executive Director of PNLT who led the charge to make it all happen, having a supportive financing partner made all the difference.

“Even before we had a project, VCIB was there,” said Joshua. “The team was always available to problem solve and help us understand the challenges and opportunities, and when Maynard came up for sale, we were ready.”

Looking towards the future, VCIB is working to replicate and scale this financing model to support other land trusts across Ontario.

The Affordable Housing HISA also offers:

• A variable interest rate: Prime less 1.85%
• No management fees
• Interest paid monthly
• 5 free outgoing transactions a month
• CDIC insurance up to $100,000

Who is eligible for the Affordable Housing HISA?

Why choose the Affordable Housing HISA?

Protect your savings, invest in your community

In the early 2010s, Nixon worked with some of the leaders of the nascent Canadian movement, professionals who talked about building a different sort of capitalism, developing new impact investing products, and growing the pool of capital available for purpose-driven businesses, affordable housing, and clean energy projects. Essentially, they wanted to build a financial system that worked for people and the planet.

But she got blank stares when she went outside her immediate professional circles with ideas about how banking and investing could be organized to cycle benefits back into the community.

“Colleagues and friends had no idea or understanding there was a space between business and philanthropy,” she says.

A decade later, it’s very different.

Today, Nixon heads up the commercial impact banking practice for Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB) — a job that has her rubbing shoulders with real estate developers, institutional investors, affordable housing providers, and government partners.

“Nobody’s asking the question, ‘Is this relevant?’ anymore,” she says. Instead, there’s a recognition of the need for an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to address our greatest challenges. Banks, investors, and asset owners, along with private and public companies, are increasingly striving to be part of the solution. Along with the climate crisis, nowhere is this need and opportunity more obvious than in the push to create more affordable housing across the country.

In her first real estate deal with VCIB, Nixon worked with the Parkdale Neighborhood Land Trust (PNLT) and a group of impact investors to structure a financing solution that meant they were ready to nab properties that create more affordable housing in the rapidly-gentrifying west Toronto neighborhood. Last spring, this preparation paid off, allowing PNLT to efficiently secure a 36-unit apartment building that was at risk of being snapped up by a private developer and converted into higher-cost housing.

That same creativity and drive was present, Nixon says, in her team’s work with Habitat for Humanity Canada—a longstanding advocate for safe and affordable housing. The partnership provided Habitat Canada with a $30 million credit facility that enables local Habitat organizations to access capital quickly and easily. Over the next three years, this financing will drive the construction of up to 414 new affordable housing units across the country.

In addition to partnering with non-profits, VCIB is increasingly finding alignment with private developers committed to integrating impact goals into their projects. Dream, who prioritize sustainability and community benefit in many of their developments, is a great example.

A decade in, the impact banking professional says she’s glad to be working with Canada’s first and only impact-driven bank and the broader Vancity Group—a financial institution that was pushing for affordable, sustainable communities before it was cool, too.

Learn more about impact financing at VCIB and, if you’re interested in chatting with VCIB about your financing needs, get in touch.

Early on, Dream – now one of Canada’s leading for-profit real estate companies – came across an answer.

Tenants showed a desire for high-quality office spaces, and Dream realized they could meet this need by offering sustainable spaces that contribute to tenants’ health and wellness. By proactively investing in spaces with these qualities, Dream discovered their assets were in higher demand, had lower operating costs, and consistently generated strong financial returns, all while building better communities for their tenants, customers, and stakeholders.

“We have always focused on great design and community building. Sustainability creates superior assets and helps people in our communities lead better lives,” said Jamie Cooper, Portfolio Manager of the Dream Impact Fund. “When you invest in the sustainability of a building, you’re extending its life cycle and decreasing your operating expenses.”

From the very beginning, Dream’s business model was built on the notion that the real estate industry has a big part to play in “making the change that we want to see in our communities” explained Cooper.

But after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, highlighting the depth of the inequities in our society, Dream realized it needed to take its impact standards to a new level.

A major sustainability milestone

In the fall of 2020, Dream became a pioneer in Canada’s real estate industry by becoming the first Canadian real estate company to formally implement and measure an impact framework.

“The pandemic shed a light on Canada’s already existing social inequalities,” said Cooper. “Plus, not long ago, in 2019, the IFC’s Operating Principles for Impact Management were published. This provided a method for evaluating impact investing as an asset class and it was a game changer – these events prompted us to think about creating our own impact framework.”

Right after implementing their impact measurement framework, the Dream Hard Asset Alternatives Trust changed its name to ‘Dream Impact Trust’, turning its focus to impact investing.

In 2021, with financing from Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB), Dream made its first acquisition under its dedicated impact investing approach – a building located at 68-70 Claremont Street in Toronto’s trendy Queen West neighborhood.

Partnerships with purpose

Securing a financing partner that shared Dream’s vision for sustainable real estate was of paramount importance for Jamie Cooper and his team.

Motivated by Dream’s mission and impact journey, VCIB provided a $14,500,000 loan to assist in the acquisition and renovations of the Claremont building.

“The Claremont Project is a very meaningful property for us. It was the very first building that we bought under our new impact lens, so for us to have been able to partner with VCIB was extremely helpful,” said Cooper. “This is the impact bank. VCIB understood the value created by the remediation work that we’re doing in the building, and I think that was really wonderful.”

The Claremont Project

“We have a big vision for this building,” said Cooper. “We’re planning to offer a curated ecosystem of amenities and services that promote health and well-being in the community. Ramps will be installed to improve the building’s accessibility and we’re going to increase the water efficiency by replacing existing water fixtures with high-efficiency, low-flow fixtures.”

In addition, to increase the energy efficiency of the building and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Dream will upgrade its HVAC system and windows, and install LED lighting.

For Dream, the tenants play an important role in managing the sustainability performance of their assets. “We want to create a very sustainable building and we’re hoping to attract tenants that value that,” continued Cooper. “Like-minded tenants can potentially help us achieve more than we otherwise could.” Dream engages its tenants through training and feedback sessions focused on increasing tenant awareness of sustainability issues.

Old partnerships, new vision

Dream’s partnership with VCIB didn’t stop there.

When Dream joined forces with BlackTusk – a Toronto-based and minority-owned real estate asset management firm – VCIB provided their joint venture with the financing needed to acquire a three-storey building located at 34 Madison Avenue, Toronto. This quaint old building is the future site of a Montessori school.

“It’s a beautiful building but it needs a lot of capital to reposition it and make it relevant,” said Cooper. “And we’re happy to have partnered with BlackTusk – this makes the project have double the impact as we see this as an opportunity to help grow their real estate private equity group while creating a school in Toronto.”

VCIB’s financing will also cover the renovations needed to create a high-quality learning centre. In keeping with Dream and BlackTusk’s building restoration policies, the property renovations will respect the essence and history of Toronto’s Annex neighborhood, where it’s located.

The Claremont Street and Madison Avenue projects illustrate Dream’s approach to impact investing and demonstrate that sustainability, community interests, and profit need not be at odds with each other. Across Canada, Dream is developing buildings that serve the community, embody a sense of place, and meet business objectives – without compromise.

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As Canada’s only values-based bank, VCIB provides construction, term, and acquisition financing for commercial real estate projects that drive lasting positive change in our communities. Learn more about VCIB’s social purpose real estate financing in our website. If interested in chatting with VCIB about your financing needs, get in touch.

Click here to learn more about Dream’s sustainable approach to real estate development.

The roads through the 71-unit, affordable housing property had “miniature sinkholes everywhere,” said Don Jones, CHMN’s onsite property manager. Moreover, the doors and windows let gusts in from outside. And the toilets, faucets, and tubs often leaked because of the poor quality of previous patch repairs.

“The members had been without a decent home standard for years due to the difficulty of getting the right capital plan and funding in place,” said Jones. And the clock on completing these renovations was ticking. “If we were to leave these repairs any longer, the cost of replacement would have been astronomical,” he said.

Jones knew a major renovation was in order to bring the buildings up to CHMN’s “decent homes” standard. But there was just one problem: finding the money.

Accessing funds to offer a “decent home” standard to co-op members

Innisfree is a rental housing co-op. This means that every significant new change — like approving a new loan to complete major repairs — needs to go through the tenant members. At Innisfree, the majority of members are working-class families from Caribbean and east and west African diaspora communities. Many families have lived in their rental units since they were built in 1983.

To prepare for the member’s’ vote, Jones secured loan proposals from multiple different lenders — banks, credit unions, and a specialty housing co-op loan provider.

His preferred option was a $2.9 million non-revolving term loan offered by Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB).

“With VCIB, there was no comparison,” he said. “They had the best rate and the most flexibility… It was a slam dunk, so we recommended it to the board.”

To Jones’ delight, the board agreed and so did the co-op’s’ tenant members. With this decision made, the work could begin in earnest.

But what co-op members didn’t know at the time of their vote was the behind-the-scenes story — how VCIB could offer such a competitive rate and such a short turnaround time.

VCIB and CMHC partnering to offer affordable housing across the GTA

In late 2020, as housing prices kept rising, VCIB staff became increasingly aware of the challenge that many community members were facing in securing housing they could afford.

“We’re just at a point where the housing crisis is peaking,” said Eric Visser, senior manager of business development at VCIB.

To try and tackle the problem at scale, VCIB struck a groundbreaking partnership with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the federal agency tasked with providing safe and affordable housing for all Canadians.

Through the partnership, VCIB committed to providing a minimum of $100 million to finance affordable housing initiatives in partnership with CMHC over the following year.

This meant that when Jones inquired about financing to support building upgrades at Innisfree, VCIB was ready. Their loan was approved quickly and repairs could get started in a hurry.

“Flabbergasting” tenants with dignified service

When fixing up the place, Jones first turned his attention to the roads, repairing the “sinkholes” and fixing sidewalks. With the first phase of this project well underway, he turned his attention to the units’ bathrooms, where old tiling was in need of replacement.

To begin, he asked tenants a simple question —their preferred tiling colour.

“They were actually flabbergasted,” he said. “Because for the first time, somebody’s actually asked them to get involved with things happening with their [rental] unit.”

This kind of service wouldn’t have been possible, he said, without the flexibility of the loan offered by VCIB. “We wouldn’t have been able to offer our decent home standard, if we had restrictions on how we used the loan. I can’t emphasize enough how important that is,” he said.

Unlike many competitors, VCIB allowed Jones and the team at Innisfree to allocate their funds where they deemed them to be most important. When COVID-19 hit and wood prices rose, for instance, Jones put off a planned fence upgrade and prioritized air conditioning installations instead.

This kind of service is good for members, but it’s also good for their property manager. “For me it’s great,” said Jones, with a laugh. “I get all of the kudos [from members].”

Surpassing planned commitment to affordable housing with $183 million investment

Over the course of the pandemic, it wasn’t only Innisfree that VCIB supported in this manner.

Since the initial partnership was struck with CMHC, VCIB provided $183 million in financing for over 1,100 affordable housing units — nearly doubling its planned $100 million commitment.

And there’s more support to come.

“COVID-19 exposed a lot of inequalities and shone a light on the need for more affordable, high-quality housing for populations who are marginalized,” said Visser.

In the coming months, VCIB and CMHC will continue to offer flexible support, offering people dignified and respectful service while enabling tenants to live in comfortable and safe homes.

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Our real estate financing team has decades of experience supporting Canada’s affordable housing providers. If you require financing for your housing co-operative, get in touch.