A promise to build new affordable rental housing was John Tory’s first official declaration in a lunchtime speech to a business crowd in June. During a scrum at an unrelated news conference, Tory told the Star his promise is premised on his signature housing plan from this term, called Open Door. A previous Star analysis of the Open Door program shows it may be difficult to achieve what Tory has pitched using the existing formula. In 2017, more than 1,200 affordable rental units were approved by the city, but just 210 were built, according to city data. Tory said the 40,000-unit promise, which works out to more than 3,300 units per year on average, will be met thanks to “increased effort” through the Open Door program.

Source: thestar August 26, 2018 02:26 UTC