Ontario gives Pickering $5.2M boost for surpassing 2023 housing target

It was a record-breaking 2023 for the City of Pickering, after the city surpassed its housing target by 58 per cent. Officials and Premier Doug Ford gathered on Tuesday, March 13, to hand over a cheque for $5.2 million to the city, for exceeding housing targets in 2023.

The province’s Building Homes Faster Fund was created to incentivize municipalities to tackle housing supply issues, and to help provide funding for more housing and community infrastructure.

“We got to keep on building,” said Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy. “This is about building today, and getting houses built — giving the dream of home ownership, in a condo, student housing, or senior housing.”

Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe said the funds will go towards building, as well as asphalt. “It’s not sexy, but it’s the nitty gritty of what matters to people,” said Ashe.

Last year alone, the City of Pickering broke ground on 1,502 new housing units and issued 1,933 building permits, with an estimated construction value of $853 million. It also received 1,972 new development applications in 2023, with an estimated construction value of $1.26 billion.

Officials say it’s the highest number of both development applications received and building permits issued in a single year for the city.

Mayor Ashe added the city has been working on “missing middle” development projects.

“There has to be a mix and a choice of housing, from condos, which are often an entry into the marketplace, to larger single-home family dwellings as well,” said Ashe.