Greenwin's Harold Green Building Wins CMHC's 2010 Housing Award for Best Practices in Affordable Housing

The Harold Green Building is a 21st-century Toronto tower. It embodies sustainability, affordability and community. The award-winning property is a 100% affordable rental building that mixes family and non-family units as well as supportive and regular housing, and incorporates environmentally friendly elements as an essential part of its long-term affordability. End Quote

I feel that by not having any of my family here in Canada, the Greenwin family has become my family.

(1888PressRelease) November 29, 2010 - The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. has recognized a rental building in north Toronto as an example of best practices in affordable housing. The Harold Green Building at 121 Parkway Forest Dr., near Don Mills Ave. and Sheppard Ave. E., embodies sustainability, affordability and community.

The developer, Verdiroc Development Corporation, selected materials that would require low maintenance, oriented the building for maximum use of the sun, and added features such as low-flow toilets and showers, low-e glazing and upgraded insulation, energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and occupancy sensors in all common areas. The Natural Resources Canada Commercial Building Incentive Program allowed Verdiroc to retain the engineers needed to effect upgrades that resulted in a building more than 25% more efficient than required by the building code.

Construction began in January 2005 and the first tenants arrived in March 2006. While all tenants enjoy rents well below the market norm, Verdiroc has also formed partnerships with community organizations that offer additional support: the Canadian Mental Health Association rents eight of the units for its clients, while Accommodation, Information and Support, a supportive housing group for people with disabilities, rents five; the City has also selected 30 units for its waiting list of people who are under-housed or in shelters. An Ontario Early Years Centre in the building offers valuable programs to families in the building and the neighbourhood.

These measures helped to qualify the Harold Green Building for several types of subsidies and incentives, including the Canada-Ontario Affordable Rental Housing Initiative. CMHC allowed affordable housing flexibilities through the waiving of the mortgage loan insurance premium, while the City of Toronto provided a low-interest loan and waived development charges and 20 years of realty taxes, helping to ensure long-term affordability.

"We're very proud of the building and how it's going," says Cary Green, principal with Greenwin Property Management and VP Development of Verdiroc, a Greenwin partner. "The building is full and has a steady waiting list."

The neighbourhood itself is geared to affordability of another kind: with the large Sears-Fairview Mall and the Don Valley subway station within a two-minute walk, and ready access to the Parkway Forest Park, many residents will not need vehicles. The building also encourages cycling by incorporating two safe bicycle-storage rooms.

"I love living in this building," says tenant Elena Popa, one of the original tenants who moved into her one-bedroom unit July 1, 2006. "The building seems more like a condo than a regular building. I feel that by not having any of my family here in Canada, the Greenwin family has become my family."

Key Facts:
- Target group: low- to middle-income singles and families
- 232 rental units (4 bachelor, 97 one-bedroom, 106 two-bedroom, 25 three-bedroom)
- Cost to build: $175/sq foot
- Cost to rent: $750/month (bachelor); $951/month (one bedroom); $1,144/month (two-bedroom); $1,351/month (three-bedroom)

Contributors:
- City of Toronto: low-interest loan; waiving of development charges and 20 years of realty taxes; and rent supplements for 30 units under the Private Landlord Program
- Ontario Ministry of Health: Rent supports for 13 units
- Natural Resources Canada: Commercial Building Incentive Program funding
- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Waiving of mortgage loan insurance premium; and Canada-Ontario Affordable Rental Housing Initiative funding

For more information visit: www.GreenwinPM.com

About Greenwin Property Management:

Greenwin builds communities for successful living. Operating for more than 60 years, it is one of Canada's largest privately owned residential property management companies.

Greenwin professionally manages buildings across the GTA, Hamilton, Cambridge, Ottawa, Montreal, and most recently, Halifax. Buildings range in size from 25 to 1200 units and are overseen by professional property managers who direct the day-to-day operations of clients' rental investments while ensuring the overall well-being of the tenant community.

With corporate offices in Toronto, the company provides 80+ head-office employees and upwards of 450 dedicated on-site staff with leading-edge technology and hands-on support, which enable each member of the Greenwin team to provide clients and tenants alike with a service that fosters success from all angles.

Contact:

Jessica Green, Director - Marketing & Corporate Social Responsibility
Greenwin Property Management Inc.
1 Valleybrook Drive
Suite 200
North York, Ontario
M3B 2S7

Tel: 416.487.3883
Fax: 416.544.4882
Email: jgreen ( @ ) greenwinpm dot com/info ( @ ) greenwinpm dot com
Web: www.GreenwinPM.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/greenwinpm
Facebook: www.facebook.com/greenwinpm

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