A new project is in the beginning stages to build a dual-purpose project in downtown Kitchener. The site at 450 and 470 King Street East is slated to be developed with both an affordable housing site and the city’s eighth fire station.
Radio Waterloo spoke with Rosa Bustamante, director of planning and housing policy with the city, and Lori Trumper executive director of Kitchener Housing Inc, which will oversee the project, about some of the details
While the project is still in it’s very early stages, Bustamante and Trumper say there will be about 150 units of mixed size and affordability. Bustamante says city staff are hopeful the project will begin construction in late 2026 or early 2027.
dan kellar
Waterloo, ON – Waterloo city council voted unanimously to endorse the recent report from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario which found that more than 80,000 people were homes in Ontario in 2024, a rise of more than 25% since 2022.
Beyond the numbers, the report offers ideas to address homelessness by focusing on long-term housing instead of the go-to actions of creating temporary emergency shelters and promoting police backed enforcement of property laws. This show features audio from the January 27th meeting where councillor Vasic and mayor McCabe spoke about the findings in the report, and heard from staff member Sandy Little who created a summary of the report for council. Little notes that the conclusions and recommendations from the report are being investigated at the city and region.
Short term rentals such as Airbnb or Vrbo rentals will now be limited to an owner’s principal residence in Waterloo. Waterloo city council voted unanimously earlier this month to this change as a response to complaints from neighbours about the rental units as well as to the ongoing housing crisis.
Radio Waterloo spoke with Waterloo mayor Dorothy McCabe for the reasoning for this change, as well as City of Kitchener Manager of Licensing Kristin VanDerGeld to ask if Kitchener staff and council are planning a similar move.
Mayor McCabe said that city staff and council understand that people use short term rentals to supplement their income. She said that she still supports people doing this, but they need to do it in their primary residence, and that this move is an effort to find a balance so that other residents are not negatively impacted by someone’s rental property.
dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – As landlords continue to raise rental prices across the country, many are being left behind. According to rentals.ca, average rent in Canada has been increased by 25% since 2021. For some, the result is homelessness, and Waterloo Region is no exception – a recent report shows at least a 129% rise in chronic homelessness here since 2020.
“I knew I was going to be homeless at some point if I did not do something” says Pat Dunn, a widowed retiree now living in Peterborough. Dunn is the founder and the executive director of the non-profit organization Senior Women Living Together. Through subscriber generated profiles on their website, the organization finds matches for senior women, who then meet up to discuss living as housemates.
This show features an interview with Pat Dunn who discusses her own brush with homelessness and rising rent led her to helping others in the same situation. The organization is currently promoting their free service in Waterloo Region.
dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – As rent prices continue to increase province-wide, ACORN has continued to demand action from all levels of government. At the municipal level, ACORN chapters were part of campaigns that won new renter protection by-laws in Kitchener and Hamilton in June, and province-wide Phone Zaps have targeted MPPs and demanded action.
On July 11th, ACORN has organised a Day of Action with protests in Ottawa, Toronto, Mississauga, London, Hamilton demanding “the Ontario Government protect affordable housing, and stop placating for-profit corporate developers and their desire for maximum profits.”
This show features Acer Bonaparte, the chair of Waterloo Region ACORN. Bonaparte told CKMS that while there isn’t an action planned locally on the 11th, the group will be active through the summer.
CKMS News contacted local PC MPPs for comment on ACORN’s demands but were told they were “not available for comment”. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing did not respond.
**shortly after first publishing this piece CKMS News received a short statement from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. We will address the statement in an upcoming CKMS News publication.**
Kitchener – As “record high rents” has been a recurring headline across the country over the past years, demand for social services such as food banks and housing have continued to rise.
Responding to the high costs of housing, Kitchener-Centre Green Party MPP Aislinn Clancy introduced the “Keeping People Housed Act” on March 6th, which will reintroduce rent and vacancy control on all rental units, create better regulations for renovictions, implement rules for replacing any losses of affordable housing units, and establish a task force to report on Above Guideline Rent Increases.
This show features interviews with Jennifer Breaton, the CEO of YWKW, and MPP Clancy. They discuss the effects of high rental prices on women and gender diverse folks across the region and province, and share ideas to address structural and systemic problems related to housing. Breaton also highlights the work the YWKW does, and MPP Clancy discusses her legislation.
Cambridge – Joined by 4 city councilors on December 19th, Cambridge mayor Jan Liggett voted against a motion to investigate the plausibility building affordable housing in raised buildings above city owned parking lots.
The motion, brought forward by ward 7 councilor Scott Hamilton was supported by all the delegates who presented at the meeting including resident Matthew Rodgers, the advocacy groups “Citizens for Cambridge”, “For the City”, and “Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard”, and as stated by councilor Earnshaw, the Cambridge Business Improvement Association was also on board.
Despite strong support for the motion from delegates, and the voting support of councilors Kimpson, Earnshaw, Roberts, and Hamilton, the motion was ultimately defeated, wIth Mayor Liggett suggesting churches should be converting their own parking lots for housing. Before calling the vote, Liggett stated that voting “no” does not mean that a councilor is against building affordable housing.
This year has been another year full of frustration, if not outright despair, for housing in Waterloo Region. But at the all-councils meeting on December 15, Build Now Waterloo Region offered some hope.
Build Now Waterloo Region is a new local collaboration of for-profit and not-for profit groups which was announced back in July. The objective of the coalition is to build 10,000 non-market and perpetually non-profit homes by 2030.
Philip Mills, the chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region, one of the central players in this initiative, updated the all-council’s meeting on this ground-breaking project.
Of these 10,000 homes, 7,000 will be available for purchase and 3,000 will be available for rent. A one bedroom home is set to sell for $280,000, a two bedroom for $330,000 and a three bedroom for $400,000. This project will specifically prevent ‘flipping,’ investment property acquisition, or other profit-seeking schemes.
The rental housing crisis was on full display in front of Kitchener City Council on Monday night.
A proposed 13-storey mixed-use building at 93-99 Benton Street and 39-43 St. George Street, within the Cedar Hill neighbourhood in Kitchener, would offer 96 new units but would also demolish the 13 current affordable units, evicting the current tenants.
Eric Schneider, Senior Planner at the City of Kitchener laid out what the developer is asking for and the arrangements with the current residents.
The applicant, Ideal Capital Limited from Mississauga, a self-proclaimed ‘premium’ real estate developer, answered Council’s questions and, after their request, indicated he would meet with residents.
Thirteen delegates asked Council to reject this proposal. Delegates included three representatives from a local tenants’ rights group (ACORN WR), several current residents of the townhouses, and neighbours from the Cedar Hill community.
Against several of the delegates’ wishes, City Council chose to defer their decision until the January 22, 2024 meeting.
Headlines for Saturday June 17th, 2023 from host dan kellar:
1 – Tenant Union pushes back against “high-pressure” landlord. The recently launched ACORN Tenant Union of Waterloo Region is organising a demonstration targeting a landlord whom tenants say is trying to renovict all the residents in two buildings who are paying less than market rates. 2 – The Canadian Disability Act finally heading for final approval in the Senate Disabled folks in Canada may soon receive a bit more support due to the impending approval of Bill C-22.
3 – Indigenous Solidarity Day Unity Jam in Waterloo Park. With the tag line “Love, Lax, and Land Back”, a Solidarity Day Unity Jam and Lacrosse game, hosted by Protect the Tract, will take place in Waterloo park on June 21st.
4 – Forest fires push Waterloo Region’s air quality to the most dangerous levels in a decade. Last week’s combination of the smoke from climate change fueled forest fires and a low pressure system off the east coast, led to Waterloo Region suffering its worst air quality levels in at least a decade
This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, Heritage Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.
The housing crisis leads to more barriers for the marginalized individuals within our community. Residents are facing an affordable housing crisis in Waterloo region. The low income housing waitlist is almost 6 years until you are able to be offered a unit. Marginalized members of this community are struggling to find and maintain stable housing in this region.
On this episode of CKMS News, we interview Sandy Dietrich-Bell, CEO of OneROOF a youth shelter in Kitchener. Part 2 of the interview focuses on some solutions to the housing crisis and the barriers that youth face while trying to obtain stable housing.
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This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant project and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada and the CKMS Newsroom.
Check out the archived versions of this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news, and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca
You can follow us on twitter @radiowaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca
The housing crisis leads to more barriers for the marginalized individuals within our community. Residents are facing an affordable housing crisis in Waterloo region. The low income housing waitlist is almost 6 years until you are able to be offered a unit. Marginalized members of this community are struggling to find and maintain stable housing in this region.
On this episode of CKMS News, we interview Sandy Dietrich-Bell, CEO of OneROOF a youth shelter in Kitchener. We discuss the barriers that marginalized members of our community face while trying to obtain stable housing as well as how the community can come together for a solution to this housing crisis.
—
This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant project and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada and the CKMS Newsroom.
Check out the archived versions of this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news, and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca
You can follow us on twitter @radiowaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca
