Andre Bermon –
New information has emerged on the controversial supportive housing project under construction at 502–508 Parliament Street.
In late September, Ward 13 Councillor Chris Moise submitted an administrative inquiry to Council seeking an update on delays and costs associated with the Cabbagetown project’s 42 affordable rental units.
According to the response by Housing Secretariat executive director Doug Rollins, the original costs were estimated at $7.81 million in 2021, not $6.43 million as the bridge previously reported. Information received from city staff had included only interior renovation costs, not the exterior restoration estimate of $1.38 million.
As of this fall, Rollins and Dixon Hall, the non-profit overseeing the supportive housing project, pegged total costs at $14.97 million, a $7.16 million overrun from the initial budget.
Structural repairs and upgrades to fire and life safety systems are expected to cost $11.5 million, exceeding the original estimate by $5.2 million. The sanitary line replacement has also seen a sharp increase, rising from $113,000 to just over $1 million.
Minutes of an August 2024 meeting the bridge received, revealed the site’s 19th-century sanitary piping needing to be ripped out and replaced. Renovation had started in 2022 and the unanticipated job was expected to add a delay of 14 to 18 weeks.
Heritage revitalization, a key component to this Cabbagetown project, was initially budgeted at $1.37 million, but current estimates allow $2.24 million.
City officials point to pandemic-era construction inflation, dilapidated building conditions and extensive work needed to meet building and fire code standards as reasons for the project’s mounting costs and delays.
Through various funding schemes, including $6 million of Section 37 funds, the city has committed $13.6 million so far. This leaves a funding gap of about $1.37 million, which Dixon Hall states is currently being worked out with the city to “ensure that the project remains fully funded and sustainable.”
The original project scope was revised to exclude the interior work at 502 Parliament and its 11 housing units due to limited funds. According to an email statement from Dixon Hall to the bridge, subsequent funding of $4.45 million from the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative, received in 2024, allowed the interior renovation contract for 504, 506 and 508 Parliament to proceed, as well as a portion of 502’s interior restoration. Dixon Hall confirmed that the contractor, TERCO Construction Ltd., used 502 Parliament as the site office and material storage location in the years before its restoration work.
According to the city, 504–508 Parliament is projected to house tenants before the end of this year while 502 Parliament will take until autumn 2026. The original completion date, according to a Freedom of Information document the bridge received, was to be December 31, 2021.
Following the adoption of City Council’s Tenant First directive in March 2018, Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) began transferring its 22 rooming house properties to non-profit housing providers. Under this initiative, the city committed to paying for repairs and renovations before transferring the properties.
Dixon Hall, as the future owner and operator of the Parliament Street site, was responsible for managing onsite construction, including selecting contractors. The agency was also selected to operate another row of TCHC-owned rooming houses in Cabbagetown, at 265–275 Wellesley Street East. These properties have been boarded up for years, plagued by persistent structural and maintenance challenges. Despite plans for renewal, the city has yet to provide funding.
