MRA Position Paper – Real Estate Developments in Mimico
The Mimico Residents’ Association has a mission to represent and advocate for all Mimico residents. One of our core values is inclusivity; we recognize that our community is diverse and we endeavour to advocate for the good of the community as a whole – this includes homeowners, renters, long-time residents and new residents.
Mimico is a growing community. While it is important to ensure that new housing supply is built to accommodate this growth, community voices must be heard. This is an important check on profit-seeking developer interests and government actors that can be too far removed from local issues and impacts.
Our goal is to support the evolution of Mimico as a livable community where residents can enjoy a high quality of life. In service of this goal, we have developed the following positions based on feedback from the community, historical work done on the Mimico 20/20 plan and recommendations from the board of the MRA.
An important note: the Mimico Residents Association takes a case-by-case approach to housing developments in our community. Our feedback regarding new proposed developments is not based on factors such as building height. It takes into consideration the specific location of the proposal, community benefits offered, existing planning guidelines, hyperlocal community needs, and other factors.
1 – Policy measures attacking community engagement are concerning and misguided
Community engagement should be an important part of new residential developments to ensure that the needs of the community are taken into consideration and that quality of life is preserved for all residents. The MRA supports measures to make sure that this community engagement is more equitable and that the voices of renters, low-income and other marginalized residents are heard. However, measures such as those enacted by the Ontario government to remove or limit local input in favour of handing planning processes over to developers who are driven primarily by profit incentives (and not community needs) are misguided.
The MRA recognizes that there is a need to balance community engagement with the stated policy intentions of accelerating housing developments. However, it is critical to ensure that efforts are made to streamline and improve the community consultation process before more heavy-handed tools are deployed that seek to bypass this essential step for housing approval processes.
2 – Building more housing will not necessarily lead to improved affordability
Building more housing is often presented as the primary solution to Canada’s housing crisis. While additional supply is important, evidence shows that supply alone will not restore affordability. For example, consider that between 2019 and 2021, housing stock growth (+3.5%) outpaced population growth (+1.3%) in the Toronto census metropolitan area (CMA). In the same period, the average home price increased 34%. In fact, according to an analysis by BMO completed in June 2023, Canada’s housing supply has outpaced household formation for much of the last two decades – yet affordability has continued to decline.
This is because rapid price growth has been driven mainly by demand-side pressures: ultra-low interest rates, the financialization of housing as an investment, and surging immigration without matching affordable housing strategies. Simply building more homes (particularly luxury condos or investor-oriented units) does not guarantee relief for working households. While increasing housing supply will still be needed, home building is a very slow process – an insufficient response to a clear and immediate crisis. The crux of the housing affordability crisis is that it is both a basic human need and a wealth-generating commodity – without addressing this core contradiction, additional supply will fall short of improving affordability.
3 – We need a better balance between high-rise condos and other housing types
A significant and disproportionate amount of new housing being built and proposed in Mimico and surrounding areas is high-rise condominiums. The Humber Bay Shores/Mimico community has seen 15,000 units in 50 condo corporations in recent years, to be joined by another 15 residential towers housing 7,500 units.
While this type of housing has its place (e.g. in close proximity to transit hubs such as GO stations), such a strong focus on this type of housing (most profitable to developers given increasing land values) at the expense of others does not address the need in the Mimico community for “missing middle” housing – duplexes, triplexes, townhouses and low-rise apartment buildings. A vibrant community is made up of different types of housing options to reflect the diverse needs of its community members.
4 – Mimico needs more affordable family-sized housing options
The MRA supports housing development that enables young families to achieve homeownership in Mimico and put down roots in the community. However, new housing developments in the Mimico community are disproportionately high-rise condominiums, made up mainly of small one or 2-bed units. Much of this supply seems to be tailored towards real estate investors (in fact, according to Statistics Canada, over half of condos built in Toronto and Vancouver from 2016 to 2020 went to investors) – many of whom prefer to invest in condos over different types of housing and tend to purchase smaller units.
Current and potential new residents looking for something in between an expensive house (like in old Mimico) and a condo in a tall, generic tower (like in Humber Bay Shores and the west end of Mimico) have few options. Without attention, the proportion of family-sized housing available in the Mimico community will decrease, and affordability for this significant cohort will further erode. This is yet another reason why developments in this community need to shift from serving investors to serving end users.
5 – Investments in infrastructure and community amenities must match increased density
As developers and policymakers hone in on increasing density as a key priority, not enough consideration is given to whether the existing infrastructure and community amenities (e.g. parks, schools, healthcare services, community spaces, etc.) will be able to accommodate this growth. Too often, new housing builds are not accompanied by matching investment in the appropriate infrastructure and amenities to ensure that quality of life is maintained. For example, residents of Mimico have watched as Humber Bay Shores has seen a rapid increase in density (high-rise condos in particular) without the appropriate investments in transportation infrastructure – leading to a significant traffic congestion problem and a concerning lack of transit options.
The MRA supports thoughtful densification, but only when matched by strategic investment in infrastructure and amenities. To ensure that growth enhances livability, new developments should be accompanied by upgrades to transportation infrastructure, expanded community services (such as schools, healthcare facilities, and recreational spaces), and other local improvements. This is how Mimico can grow sustainably, maintaining the livability, connectivity, and sense of community that make it a desirable place to live.
6 – Plans for increased density must include a strategy to increase affordable rental units
In the thirty years ending in 1993, governments at all levels demonstrated leadership in ensuring that plans for increased densities included significant additions in affordable rental housing, including both co-operatives and purpose-built social housing. Since then, senior levels of government have largely failed to fund the provision of affordable rental housing. That has created an affordable housing crisis for many renting households.
As they did throughout the 1970s and 1980s, intensification plans should again ensure that public policies supporting substantially higher densities are shared between land owners, developers and the City in ways that enable the creation of community land trusts, and ensure a mix of housing that includes responding to the needs of modest-income households.
A sustainable, thriving and growing Mimico for all is possible.
Mimico is at a crossroads. Growth is inevitable, but the shape of that growth is a choice. The MRA believes new housing can and should strengthen our community if it is planned with balance, affordability, and sustainability in mind.
We call on policymakers, developers, and residents alike to work together on solutions that:
- Put community needs ahead of speculative interests
- Deliver a mix of housing that supports families, renters, and newcomers
- Pair new density with the infrastructure and amenities required for quality of life
- Ensure Mimico evolves into a complete, connected, and resilient neighbourhood
Our vision is a Mimico where growth enhances livability, rather than undermines it – a community that future generations will be proud to call home.