Carney's affordable housing Crown corp won't be headquartered in Ottawa

The fledgling federal Crown corporation that’s a key part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan to accelerate housing construction will make its primary residence in Toronto.

Build Canada Homes, which was established last year to help address a lack of housing supply, launched as a special operating agency with an initial $13 billion earmarked for affordable housing projects.

At launch, Build Canada Homes fell under the federal department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, but the Liberal government has since passed legislation that sets out a path to establishing the agency as a Crown corporation.

Now, after a recent cabinet order, the corporation officially has a head office.

According to spokesperson Joshua Coke, Build Canada Homes (BCH) will use the previous offices of the Canada Lands Company at 1 University Avenue in Toronto, a location that “provides an established operational and efficient foundation for BCH.”

“As a national organization, BCH’s work will be carried out across Canada. To support the delivery of that mandate, BCH will maintain an operational presence in multiple locations across the country, with Toronto serving as its corporate headquarters.”

Build Canada Homes also holds offices in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Halifax, Coke added.

As the organization’s structure isn’t yet set in stone, Coke said he is unable to provide an employee headcount or information about how the workforce will be distributed across cities.

CEO Ana Bailão, a former Toronto city councillor, has been tasked with standing up the corporation while getting money out the door.

The City of Ottawa reached an agreement with BCH in April in which the city is reducing or waiving development charges, permit fees, cash in lieu of parkland and property taxes in exchange for receiving funding toward 1,000 new affordable or supportive housing units in Ottawa.

BCH also committed to investing in 2,000 new housing units on federal land and identified 1495 Heron Rd. and Wateridge Village as the initial sites for development under the partnership.

Since establishing the Toronto headquarters, federal cabinet orders have transferred rights and property to the corporation from the infrastructure minister, as well as adjusting pay for the chair and other directors.

In August, former CEO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Evan Siddall was named the inaugural chair of the board.

The Canada Lands Company, whose former head office BCH will take over, is being folded into BCH, including its role in land development.