[Jspr]

Housing OpEd by former mayor Iveson.

Opinion: Edmonton leads on affordable housing but challenges remain

Insufficient affordable housing is one of the main reasons Edmonton has seen a dramatic increase in homelessness in recent years.

edmontonjournal.com

We need to stop conflating life-saving shelter (a medical intervention) with permanent ongoing housing provided by the market. People in need of life-saving shelter, usually unhoused people with addiction and/or mental health issues (the people most commonly thought of as "the homeless" by the general public), require medical care and are often not ready for permanent ongoing housing. People fleeing domestic violence, refugees, and evacuees are a similar group in that their need is acute and not resolvable without community or institutional support. This is different from people who are simply unable to afford adequate housing but would otherwise be able to obtain it if it were available.

Linking the presence of homeless populations with affordability is only part of the story. There is a threshold people cross where their needs shift from "gee, I wish I could afford a basement apartment near where I work" to "oh no, I have psychosis because I did too much meth and am not able to function in a normal dwelling." Our conversation about homelessness, at a political level, is immature at best, and at worst is being intentionally misused by the development community to extract privileges they would previously have had to pay for, all while not actually addressing the underlying issue: people in need of medical intervention in the form of shelter.

 

[policyenthusiast]

We need to stop conflating life-saving shelter (a medical intervention) with permanent ongoing housing provided by the market. People in need of life-saving shelter, usually unhoused people with addiction and/or mental health issues (the people most commonly thought of as "the homeless" by the general public), require medical care and are often not ready for permanent ongoing housing. People fleeing domestic violence, refugees, and evacuees are a similar group in that their need is acute and not resolvable without community or institutional support. This is different from people who are simply unable to afford adequate housing but would otherwise be able to obtain it if it were available.

Linking the presence of homeless populations with affordability is only part of the story. There is a threshold people cross where their needs shift from "gee, I wish I could afford a basement apartment near where I work" to "oh no, I have psychosis because I did too much meth and am not able to function in a normal dwelling." Our conversation about homelessness, at a political level, is immature at best, and at worst is being intentionally misused by the development community to extract privileges they would previously have had to pay for, all while not actually addressing the underlying issue: people in need of medical intervention in the form of shelter.

Hear hear. A stable, permanent home ecosystem priced at levels that citizens of all income levels can afford is objectively more effective than widening the last rung of the ladder via last-resort housing solutions.

Similarly, "missing middle" housing has become conflated with only infill multiplexes, resulting in articles like "2025, the year Edmonton built the missing middle." We haven't built the missing middle until the entire housing spectrum (both in terms of housing structural forms, price points, AND ownership/rental models) exists at a surplus or balance with market demand and growth.

 

[Kosy123]

Avison Young's Q1 report finally came out. Decent news, and downtown continues to perform well.

 

[IanO]

 

[policyenthusiast]

CMHC money drop.

$22.9 million for Civida for the Belmont multi-family development (surplus school site) -- New construction

$22.9 million for Civida for the Caernarvon multi-family development (surplus school site) -- New construction

$9.3 million for Vivid 1 Concepts Ltd for the Diamond of Dunluce project (surplus school site) -- New construction

$16.3 million for Brentwood Family Housing Society for Brentwood Builds Phase 2 -- New construction

$336,385 for C.A.R.E. (Creating Accessible Residential Environments) Housing Society for a barrier-free home for persons with severe disabilities -- New construction

$8.9 million for Edmonton City Centre Church Corp. Corporation (e4c) for the E4C Purpose-Built Building Project -- New construction
$1 million for Jasper Place Wellness Centre to complete multiple projects -- New construction

$8.7 million for Right at Home Housing Society for Rowland Road seniors' housing -- New construction

$4.3 million for Right at Home Housing Society for the Edmonton renewal and expansion project -- New construction

$5 million for Right at Home Housing Society for the Kiniski Gardens affordable housing project -- New construction

$5 million for the City of Edmonton Non-Profit Housing Corporation (HomeEd) for the Lymburn project (surplus school site) -- New construction

$5.4 million for the Women in Need (WIN) House of Edmonton for the second and third stage transitional housing project -- New construction

$2.3 million for Elizabeth Fry Society of Northern Alberta for the Community of Hope shelter relocation -- Motel conversion

$5.5 million for GEF Seniors Housing for the Aspera Apartments conversion -- Apartment conversion

$7 million for La Perle Development Ltd. for La Perle Village -- New construction

$550,000 for Purposeful Property Investments Inc. for the CarePros Alternative Level of Care initiative -- Single family home conversions

 

[IanO]

My takeaways from the Edmonton Real Estate Forum:

1. Edmonton continues to suffer from a lack of institutional grade attention and money when it comes to multi-res. It was made very clear that Van/Tor/Cal were the focus.

2. We continue to talk about the negatives far more than the positives and that hurts us. On multiple panels I heard about how cold our winter is and how Edmonton is a backwater town compared to Calgary.

3. The fundamentals are all here NOW to really accelerate economic growth.

4. We MUST continue to work on safety/security/look/feel of our Downtown. The number of folks from out of town who commented on how poor the current experience is was disturbing and continues to push investment away.

5. We need to renovate and expand ECC. It really under-delivers and needs a Hall E and perhaps a nice bar/restaurant with a view.

 

[policyenthusiast]

My takeaways from the Edmonton Real Estate Forum:

1. Edmonton continues to suffer from a lack of institutional grade attention and money when it comes to multi-res. It was made very clear that Van/Tor/Cal were the focus.

2. We continue to talk about the negatives far more than the positives and that hurts us. On multiple panels I heard about how cold our winter is and how Edmonton is a backwater town compared to Calgary.

3. The fundamentals are all here NOW to really accelerate economic growth.

4. We MUST continue to work on safety/security/look/feel of our Downtown. The number of folks from out of town who commented on how poor the current experience is was disturbing and continues to push investment away.

5. We need to renovate and expand ECC. It really under-delivers and needs a Hall E and perhaps a nice bar/restaurant with a view.

It seems like a waste that ECC doesn't have persistent tenants. A bar would do very well.

 

[archited]

2. We continue to talk about the negatives far more than the positives and that hurts us

That's been my point all along!

 

[Kosy123]

Us consistently saying we're a backwater town and putting ourselves down is the biggest pet peeve in this city tbh. We really aren't and need to act like it.

We're the 5th largest municipality in the country, with over a million people and growing. We get consistent international, interprovincial and intraprovincial migration flows, high GDP per capita, high disposable spending patterns, marked improvements in transit and urbanism. Sure, our DT needs work, and everyone in this forum knows that, but we're getting to an inflection point. I mean we've got close to 5,000 units that are coming in over the next few years.

It's exhausting when it's mostly out of towners who actually have more positive outlooks and opinions of this city, rather than us. And I'm sick and tired of constantly comparing ourselves as inferior to Calgary. I mean I'm sick and tired of snooty Calgarians looking down on us, but we don't pushback hard enough.

It sounds crazy, but we need to have the mentality we can surpass them, because if we even get half of that energy for a lofty goal, we'd be on our way to creating a city that's a juggernaut.

 

[policyenthusiast]

Us consistently saying we're a backwater town and putting ourselves down is the biggest pet peeve in this city tbh. We really aren't and need to act like it.

We're the 5th largest municipality in the country, with over a million people and growing. We get consistent international, interprovincial and intraprovincial migration flows, high GDP per capita, high disposable spending patterns, marked improvements in transit and urbanism. Sure, our DT needs work, and everyone in this forum knows that, but we're getting to an inflection point. I mean we've got close to 5,000 units that are coming in over the next few years.

It's exhausting when it's mostly out of towners who actually have more positive outlooks and opinions of this city, rather than us. And I'm sick and tired of constantly comparing ourselves as inferior to Calgary. I mean I'm sick and tired of snooty Calgarians looking down on us, but we don't pushback hard enough.

It sounds crazy, but we need to have the mentality we can surpass them, because if we even get half of that energy for a lofty goal, we'd be on our way to creating a city that's a juggernaut.

I leave the self-pitying to Red Deer. They deserve it, because Red Deer sucks.

 

[Didama]

My takeaways from the Edmonton Real Estate Forum:

1. Edmonton continues to suffer from a lack of institutional grade attention and money when it comes to multi-res. It was made very clear that Van/Tor/Cal were the focus.

2. We continue to talk about the negatives far more than the positives and that hurts us. On multiple panels I heard about how cold our winter is and how Edmonton is a backwater town compared to Calgary.

3. The fundamentals are all here NOW to really accelerate economic growth.

4. We MUST continue to work on safety/security/look/feel of our Downtown. The number of folks from out of town who commented on how poor the current experience is was disturbing and continues to push investment away.

5. We need to renovate and expand ECC. It really under-delivers and needs a Hall E and perhaps a nice bar/restaurant with a view.

I agree with this however to your first point I would say that I heard a lot of positive talk about how Edmonton IS starting to get a lot of attention from investors looking for opportunities. Perhaps not the institutional grade you’re referring to but certainly private investment. Overall I would say the mood was very optimistic that our moment in the sun is finally coming. Lots of work left to do to harness the opportunities before us of course. Also lots of talk how idiotic this whole separation nonsense is and how it could quash any wind we may finally have at our backs. Time for the business community to speak out more forcefully against the UCP’s separatist agenda; it has the potential to stop any momentum in its tracks.

 

[Greenspace]

Edmonton's primary advantage will continue to be housing affordability relative to income levels. It knocks it out of the park comparatively.

 

[IanO]

^yes and no.

Housing affordability is great, but the desirability of our city must improve and overall perception to really make strides.

 

[Oilers99]

^yes and no.

Housing affordability is great, but the desirability of our city must improve and overall perception to really make strides.

Housing affordability cannot be the sole reason people want to invest here or move here. Ignoring the problems that exist is a classic Edmonton perspective.

The closing panel was definitely an interesting one with differing perspectives between the panelists.

 

[Didama]

There is a difference between desirability and the perception of desirability. Our community is already desirable, which you can ask many of the newcomers to our city who have decided to not only move here but stay. Spoke to many at the forum who have been here less than a couple of years and they love it, for a reason. As one panelist put it, ‘Vancouver has the ocean, but we have livability’. We have more green space than any city in North America, an incredible offering of cultural institutions, jobs (basically 100% of newcomers who move here find jobs, compared to something like 20% in Toronto at the moment), are three hours from an uncrowded nation park, and the list goes on (with housing affordability also being a top attraction at least). So it’s not the desirability that’s the problem, just the perception of it. That’s a much easier fix and not an insurmountable problem by any stretch.