The Town of Richmond Hill council has voted to put its support behind a controversial mixed-income apartment and youth emergency shelter.
More commonly known as The Hub, the nine-storey building north of Yonge Street and Crosby Avenue will include 202 residential units geared toward seniors, singles and small families. Sixty per cent of the units will be at market rent, and 40 per cent will be subsidized for low-income tenants.
The Housing York–funded project, which has split some residents on the need for affordable housing in the area, will also house 14 emergency and 11 transitional beds for at-risk youth.
Prior to the 7–2 vote, several parties made delegations in support of the proposal. In her presentation, Sylvia Patterson, the general manager of the York Region’s housing division, said that the project’s approval would help the area’s need for housing.
Karen Cilevitz, chair of the David Dunlap Observatory Defenders activist group, hailed council’s support as a victory for those hoping to assist the disadvantaged in the town, which she said are in need. According to York Region’s website, Richmond Hill hasn’t had a significant social housing development in 10 years.
But one of the project’s most vocal critics, Ward 2 Councillor Carmine Perrelli, in whose ward the development falls, claimed that his ward already has its “fair share” of social housing.
Perrelli has previously maintained that nearby residents were not adequately consulted when the project was proposed, nor when the town sold the site for the project to York Region.
Prior to casting his opposing vote, Perrelli distributed a petition and flyers against the plans, and, more recently, even organized a protest to challenge the project.
Ward 5 councillor Nick Papa was the only other councillor who voted against the project.