City launches Building Kitchener Together: a bold plan to build more homes in Kitchener

On the heels of the 2024 federal and provincial budgets, as well as funding allocations from Canada’s Housing Accelerator Fund and Ontario’s Building Faster Fund, the City of Kitchener is launching Building Kitchener Together: a group of transformative projects to advance the City’s Housing For All strategy and provide a significant boost to the housing supply in Kitchener.

In November 2023, federal Minister Sean Fraser, on behalf of the federal government announced a $42.4 million Housing Accelerator Fund allocation for the City of Kitchener. This funding will fast-track the construction of 1,216 new homes by early 2027 to help address housing affordability and the increasing demand for housing in our community.

“Kitchener is one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada and increasing housing supply is a major priority for City Council,” said Kitchener Mayor, Berry Vrbanovic. “We are incredibly thankful for the Government of Canada’s continued investment in our community, including our Housing Accelerator Fund allocation announced in November 2023, which has positioned us to be an important part of the solution to the housing crisis. We take our commitment to housing seriously, and that starts with Building Kitchener Together: a wide variety of projects to support the fast-tracking of homes and our continued collaboration with industry partners and other orders of government. The time for bold and transformational housing solutions is now.”

Building Kitchener Together projects supported by Housing Accelerator Funding include:

Growing Together West (COMPLETE)

• We are changing land use rules around major ION transit stations beginning with the seven major transit station areas west of the expressway. This will encourage density and responsible growth within core areas. This project was approved by Council in March 2024. Read the news release here.

Growing Together East

• Following Growing Together West, we will look to change land use rules in the areas within a five to 10-minute walk from the Block Line and Fairway ION transit stops and future Sportsworld stop. Staff will begin to bring forward recommendations to city council on these land use and zoning changes in 2025.

Inclusionary zoning (COMPLETE)

• We are requiring developers to build affordable housing units (along with market-based housing) in these areas using a new tool called inclusionary zoning in our 10 major transit station areas. This project was approved by Council in March 2024. Read the news release here.

Providing city-owned land for affordable housing

• Pending Council approval, we will provide city-owned lands for affordable or supportive housing projects. This commitment was made through our Housing For All strategy and has already been delivered on through the two YW Kitchener-Waterloo - supportive housing projects for women experiencing homelessness, and affordable housing for single mothers with children. Over the next few years, we will actively look for new opportunities to provide lands for below-market rental and ownership housing and will continue to work directly with affordable housing providers to access these lands and collaborate on the delivery of affordable housing together.

Affordable housing grant pilot

• Starting in 2024, the federal government and the City of Kitchener will provide a $10,000-per-unit grant to help build more than 500 new not-for-profit affordable housing units. Funding will help cover early project costs for developments that provide not-for-profit supportive, affordable rental or affordable co-op housing units. Staff are in the early stages of developing a policy to guide this grant program. Applications are expected to open in May 2024.

Four units city-wide (COMPLETE)

• In March 2024, Kitchener Council approved zoning and official plan changes to permit up to four dwelling units on any lot that allows a single-detached dwelling, semi-detached dwelling or street fronting townhouse dwelling, subject to regulations. Enabling four units will unlock the potential for up to four dwelling units on about 41,500 residential lots across Kitchener. This provides a significant opportunity for homeowners and developers to expand the number of units in existing neighbourhoods.

Strategic land acquisition

• We will make more land available for affordable housing development, especially within our major transit station areas. In addition, we will work directly with interested affordable housing providers to access these lands and collaborate on the delivery of affordable housing together with necessary related community infrastructure.
• We will continue to leverage relationships with other Waterloo Region area municipalities to coordinate efforts to expand this affordable housing land development program to grow a pool of development-ready land across the region.

Climate adaptation plan

• Through Building Kitchener Together, we will also continue advancing work on our greenhouse gas reduction targets by creating a climate adaptation plan that will be used in the short term to inform land use policy updates as we develop our new Official Plan.

Last week, Premier Doug Ford announced that the City of Kitchener would be receiving $14 million in funding from the Building Faster Fund for achieving 139 per cent of our goal for housing starts in 2023. Details of eligible uses for the fund are being finalized with the Province of Ontario. Read the news about this funding.

“The housing affordability and supply crisis facing Canadians is something that has developed over many decades and it will take an all of community approach to tackle this challenge in Kitchener or any Canadian or Ontario city or community,” said Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “Kitchener Council and staff are ambitious in our resolve to tackle these issues across the housing continuum, and these two partnerships with the federal and provincial governments, coupled with our collaboration with the Region, for-profit businesses, not-for-profit organizations and the broader community itself, will give us our best chance to achieve these objectives together.”

Read more about Building Kitchener Together online.

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For more information, contact:

Bethany Rowland
Director, Corporate Communications & Marketing
City of Kitchener
bethany.rowland@kitchener.ca