Vision SoHo Alliance
Vision SoHo Alliance
First-of-its-kind Housing Partnership Fosters Community of Belonging
Nearly 6,000 Londoners are on the waitlist for social housing. With low vacancy rates, and rising rental prices, a safe, adequate and affordable home is simply out of reach for too many in our community.
The Vision SoHo Alliance, a first-of-its-kind partnership between six local non-profit housing developers, plans to help address this issue by building the single largest affordable housing development in London’s history.
Convened by London Community Foundation, the Vision SoHo Alliance includes The Chelsea Green Home Society, Homes Unlimited, Indwell, London Affordable Housing Foundation, Residenza Affordable Housing, and Zerin Development Corporation.
Representatives from the organizations making up the Vision SoHo Alliance: Paul Fitzgeorge, Zerin Development Corporation; Jim Foote, Homes Unlimited; Roger Caranci, Residenza Affordable Housing; Julie Ryan, Indwell; Sister Joan Atkinson, London Affordable Housing Foundation; Greg Playford, London Community Foundation; Sue Riggins, The Chelsea Green Home Society.
The goal is to address the shortage of affordable housing in the community by collaborating on a mixed-income housing development on the former Victoria Hospital lands to enhance, honour and celebrate the rich heritage of the SoHo community with beautifully designed, environmentally friendly, affordable, and well-managed buildings.
The Alliance plans to build approximately 685 units total with at least 416 units being affordable. The units will vary in affordability ranging from full market, to 80% of market rate, to deeply affordable based on the Ontario Disability Support Program shelter rates. While each developer will be responsible for their own unique building, the Alliance will work together to create complementary designs and a unified vision. Working alongside the City of London, the Alliance will expedite progress toward Mayor Ed Holder’s goal to build 3,000-units within five years.
“We’re so pleased to partner together with the City of London to help meet the demand for affordable housing,” says Sylvia Harris, Chair of the Vision SoHo Alliance. “By working together, we can act quickly to deliver the affordable housing units, increasing the availability of housing for those who need it most.”
To learn more about the redevelopment of the former Victoria Hospital lands site, or how you can support the Vision SoHo Alliance, visit visionsoho.ca
