Regeneration Forum 2019: Road Map to Development

The National Housing Strategy signals a renewed federal commitment to building inclusive communities and providing homes for vulnerable and low-income households. But what is the role of the community, public and private sectors in collectively realizing the goals of the Strategy? Derek Ballantyne, Chair of Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) will explore the contributions required and the opportunities that are emerging in this new era of affordable housing development in Canada.

Speaker: Derek Ballantyne, Chairman and Director, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

There is no one stop solution for finding a development partner, whether you’re linking up for one project or entering into a long term agreement, your arrangement should suit your unique needs.

This session features a range of speakers, sharing their strategies for soliciting support and how they structured their partnership to yield the maximum benefit for all.

• Doug Kitlar, Director of Facility Management, GEF Seniors Housing
• Kevin Albers, Chief Executive Officer, M’akola Group of Societies
• Heather Tremain, Chief Executive Officer, Options for Homes

This session will discuss factors involved in making hard decisions about the future of your assets. Whether it’s a new build, a renovation or divestment, data can play a key role in your decision making. Our speakers will share their approach both in terms of strategic decision making and methodology.

Speakers:

• Sarah Woodgate, President of Calgary Housing Company (CHC) and Director of Calgary Housing
• Hans Kogel, Chief Development & Regeneration Officer, Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation
• Greg Dewling, Chief Executive Officer, Capital Region Housing Corporation (AB)

Passive House is the fastest growing near-zero energy performance standard in the world…and it’s driving a revolution in housing.

This practical session will look at both new housing developments and deep retrofits that follow the Passive House standard. Using real-world examples, our speakers will share their decision making, methodologies, and lessons learned to date. The session will feature projects at various stages of completion, including the rehabilitation of a 50-year-old 17-storey apartment tower, a Pre-Fabricated Insulated Panel Exterior retrofit of a 1961 townhouse block following the Energiesprong model, and several completed Passive House buildings with measurable savings.

Speakers:

• Dan Dicaire, Energy and Sustainability Officer, Ottawa Community Housing
• Tom Hunter, Chief Executive Officer , CityHousing Hamilton
• Graham Cubitt , Director of Projects and Development, Indwell

Using examples from the sector, this session will look at innovative solutions to making the pro forma work, including long-term financing options, tweaking rents to maximize cash flows and establishing economies of scale through a consolidated pro forma.

This interactive session will give you a better understanding of key considerations in developing pro formas for your projects, and is geared towards participants who have some basic knowledge of this subject.

Speakers:

• Joshua Broadhead, Chief Underwriter, Housing Investment Corporation
• Tiffany Duzita, Director, Community Land Trust Foundation of BC
• Zack Ramji, CFO, Capital Region Housing Corporation

When planning for a new or developed affordable housing community, increasing density is always a strong financial consideration. This session flips this notion on its head and suggests it is time for a dialogue about other ways of creating affordable communities; including the possibility of tiny homes.

Speakers:

• Reverend Faith Fowler, Executive Director, Cass Community Social Services
• Graeme Stewart, Principal,  ERA Architects
• Note: Presentation materials are only available from Graeme Stewart

If your organization has been asking this question, this session is for you. Our speakers will help you understand what it takes to position your organization to develop housing, sharing their critical path, pitfalls to avoid and lessons learned.

Delegates will leave this session with a better understanding of the development process, their options when undertaking a development project and what internal capacity you need to operate this way?

Speakers:

• Graeme Hussey, Director of Housing Development, Centretown Affordable Housing Development Corporation (Cahdco)
• Darlene Cook, General Manager & CEO, Peterborough Housing Corporation
• Mwarigha, Vice President, Housing and Homelessness Services, Woodgreen Community Housing Inc.
• Peter Zimmerman, President, New Commons Development

This plenary session will feature Shayne Ramsay, CEO of BC Housing, and will share strategies used in B.C. to push the envelope. The B.C. model works because housing providers take risks and work collectively to create the environment for innovation. He will challenge attendees to consider how they can influence their governments to build a sustainable model that supports development and better housing outcomes that work.

Speaker: Shayne Ramsay, Chief Executive Officer, BC Housing

With housing providers aiming to deliver more social services beyond just housing, many are finding that form follows function and that the purpose of the building should be the starting place for its design.

This session will feature speakers from across Canada, who will share their experiences about delivering housing and supports for target populations, including veterans, expectant mothers, women fleeing violence, at-risk youth and seniors. This session will discuss both the technical considerations and the process of working with the community.

Speakers:

• Janice Abbott, Chief Executive Officer, Atira Women’s Resource Society
• Rick Farrell, General Manager of Housing, The Regional Municipality of York
• Cynthia Jacques, Project Manager, Centretown Affordable Housing Development Corporation (Cahdco)

While discussions on land trusts and land banks have taken place for many years, they remain a concept rather than a reality for most. As a proven platform for preserving affordability and developing without displacement, community land trusts and land banks are powerful tools for addressing complex issues.

This session will feature speakers from across Canada who will share how they turned these ideas into an operational reality and how these models are evolving to support local need.

Speakers:

• Tiffany Duzita, Director, Community Land Trust Foundation of BC
• Melissa Estable, Manager of Co-operative Housing Development, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada
• Tom Clement, Executive Director, CHF Toronto
• Kit Hickey, Executive Director, Housing Alternatives Inc.

Do we have to choose between controlling development costs and incorporating energy efficiency in the design? This session will share practical examples of energy focused design, looking at both new builds and energy retrofits. Delegates will have the opportunity to learn from examples such as Aeon’s ‘Rose’, a Minnesota building that took on the ‘Living Building Challenge’

Speakers:

• Duncan Hill, Manager, Housing Needs Technical Research, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
• Leslie Roering, Senior Project Manager, Housing Development , Aeon
• Chris Shilton, Senior Project Manager, Energy Initiatives, CityHousing Hamilton

Increasingly, new affordable housing is being developed using a mixed-income model approach to achieve financial viability and promote more inclusive communities.

But what does it take for a mixed-income community to work? And is this model sustainable long-term? Our speakers will explore this topic both from a research lens and as housing providers. This session will discuss practical elements for making the business case, stakeholder expectations, and looking deeper into the altruistic effectiveness of the mixed income model.

Speakers:

• Darlene Cook, General Manager & CEO, Peterborough Housing Corporation
• Dr. Amy Khare, Research Director, National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities (NIMC)
• John McEown, Senior Development Manager, BC Housing

When undertaking a regeneration project, the importance of social regeneration cannot be overstated. Speakers from Kingston & Frontenac Housing Corporation and Toronto Community Housing will compare relocation processes and engagement strategies, demonstrating the similarities and differences in their approach.

Speakers will discuss the steps taken before, during and after a physical relocation, sharing examples of successes and lessons learned.

Speakers:

Mary Lynn Cousins Brame, CEO, Kingston & Frontenac Housing Corporation

Sanja Arpadzic, Manager, Operational Initiatives, Toronto Community Housing (TCH)

Sean Major, Manager, Revitalization and Renewal Communities, Toronto Community Housing (TCH)