City officials on Friday opened a reconstructed co-operative apartment complex in South Riverdale, which now has 26 units, up from nine before construction began.
Located at 685 Queen St. E., near Broadview Avenue, the building was constructed in 1909. The front of the original structure has been preserved despite new construction.
The property is part of the Riverdale Co-op, which comprises 124 units spread out over 28 properties in the east end.
A co-op is a type of non-profit housing that typically offers tenants subsidized rent, or a significantly lower than market cost, for units.
"This building is a heritage building," said local Coun. Paula Fletcher during an announcement about the project on Friday. "It was old; it was tired."
"Riverdale Co-op has small buildings, large buildings, single family homes. We have lots of co-op apartments and homes here in the east end,” she continued. "So it's so thrilling to have this totally refurbished, beautiful building for everybody to move back into."
Five apartments will be set aside specifically for young artists, Fletcher said.
Sixteen of the 26 units are accessible.
Mayor Olivia Chow, who attended the announcement, recalled how her mother's physical disabilities came to complicate her daily life as she aged. She said an accessible living space like the ones in the co-op building would have been beneficial for her mother.
"It was hard, even before she got her wheelchair, for her to navigate the steps in the house,” Chow said of her mother. “It was hard — every step going upstairs. She loved to cook, but it was hard to cook because our kitchen counter was high.”
"All types of things happen to your body. You don't want to leave all your friends, or your neighbourhood, your community. Here, you can age in place,” Chow said of the new co-op. “You have a real sense of being in a community, because a co-op is not just a home, it's a community."
The project received $8 million in funding and incentives from the city.
Tenants will pay 80 per cent of the average market rent, which the city reports is $1,708 for a one bedroom apartment. Some tenants will be eligible for federal rent supplements.
