TORONTO – The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) and Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) are pleased to announce a deep, multi-measure retrofit of 575 Danforth Road, a seniors’ apartment building with 16 units in Toronto’s Birchmount Park neighbourhood.
Built in 1958, this low-rise building retrofit is the most ambitious project undertaken by TAF or TCHC to date, targeting an 80 per cent reduction in carbon intensity. Goals for the building include EnerPHit certification, which is the Passive House standard for retrofits. The innovative design plan includes fuel-switching to electric heat pumps for efficient heating and cooling as well as the installation of prefabricated envelope overcladding. The overcladding approach adds insulation to the outside of the building, improving efficiency while reducing disruption to residents.
Planned upgrades will create a healthier, more comfortable indoor environment for seniors, including the addition of cooling with individual temperature controls as a resilience measure against Toronto’s increasingly extreme heat during the summer. The retrofit is expected to generate utility savings and 191 job years of local employment, establishing a model for other deep retrofits of similar buildings in TCHC’s portfolio and beyond that can be easily replicated.
This project is funded in part by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund through its Sustainable Affordable Housing program, TCHC, and TAF. The building is owned by TCHC and managed by the Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation (TSHC).
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund is funded through an endowment by the Government of Canada.
Quotes
“TAF has partnered with TCHC to retrofit hundreds of homes, and this is our most ambitious to date. It’s another example that it’s possible to achieve value for housing providers, residents, the local economy, and the environment. Buildings are responsible for over half of urban carbon emissions, and we need to accelerate the pace of deep retrofits like this in multi-family buildings across Canada.”
– Julia Langer, Chief Executive Officer, The Atmospheric Fund
“We’re proud of our ongoing partnership with TAF because it enables TCHC – and our tenants – to take action in the face of climate change. Through this work, TCHC will reduce emissions and become more energy efficient in the operation of our portfolio, while giving tenants the ability to stay safe and comfortable during increased summer temperatures.”
– Sean Baird, President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Community Housing
“We are delighted to work with TAF, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and Toronto Community Housing to launch this initiative at 575 Danforth and help to improve the living environment for tenants. Investing in low-carbon solutions not only benefits TSHC tenants, but also reduces our collective carbon footprint as a city.”
– Tom Hunter, Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation
About The Atmospheric Fund
The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) is a regional climate agency that invests in low-carbon solutions for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and helps scale them up for broad implementation. We’re particularly interested in ideas that offer benefits in addition to carbon reduction such as improving people’s health, creating local jobs, boosting urban resiliency, and contributing to a fair society.
About Toronto Community Housing
Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) is Canada’s largest social housing provider, with more than 20 years of service to the community. Named a 2024 Greater Toronto Top Employer, TCHC provides supportive housing to 43,000 low- and moderate-income households in neighbourhoods across the city.
About Toronto Seniors Housing
Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation (TSHC) provides subsidized rental housing in a state of good repair for approximately 15,000 low- and moderate-income seniors in 83 buildings across the city.
Media Contacts
Julie Leach
Senior Manager, Campaigns & Communications
The Atmospheric Fund
jleach@taf.ca | 416-393-6382
John Andrews
Communications Consultant
Toronto Community Housing
john.andrews@torontohousing.ca | 416-275-5291
Wendy Dobson
Manager, Communications and External Affairs
Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation
media@torontoseniorshousing.ca | 437-688-2958
My hope would be that the tax dollars spent on this interesting project, result in learning that leads to even more and better experiments in retrofitting. I look forward to further news :)
Thank you Pat, that’s our goal! The prefabricated overcladding is an especially promising technology with potential to scale across Canada. We hope projects like this will help prove their value and drive more investment and interest.