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Affordable Housing Development

Expression of Interest - Supportive Housing Development and Operations Partnership

The Region of Durham is inviting Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from qualified non-profit and charitable organizations interested in partnering on the development and operation of up to two supportive housing projects on Region-owned land.

Organizations with experience in supportive housing, housing development, and serving individuals experiencing homelessness or housing instability are encouraged to apply.

Through this EOI, the Region aims to identify one or more potential partners for future discussions and partnership opportunities related to these projects.

Submission Deadline: July 29, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.
Submission Method: Submit completed Expressions of Interest by email to HousingDurhamDevelopment@durham.ca

For full eligibility requirements, project details, and submission instructions, please review the complete Expression of Interest documents.

The Region of Durham is committed to providing a full range of safe, accessible and affordable housing in our community.

Durham Regional Local Housing Corporation is Regionally owned affordable housing and the region’s largest non-market housing provider. We are modernizing and redeveloping many of the properties. Redevelopment sites will provide more units, improve designs and provide a better unit mix with more on-site amenities.

Durham Region is also working to support the creation of more affordable housing through partnerships with developers and non-profit organizations.

This webpage is dedicated to sharing information on the progress of Durham Region’s affordable housing development initiatives.

Housing Durham sites

Durham Region is transforming Regionally owned community housing into vibrant, walkable, climate resilient and inclusive mix-income communities. This includes 409 Centre Street, Whitby, as well as Christine Crescent, the Broader Hill, 416-448 Malaga Road and 600 Townline Road in Oshawa. Learn about the community revitalization on Your Durham.

Retrofit projects

Durham Region is actively working to enhance its affordable housing stock through various retrofit projects. Notable initiatives include the 155 King Street project in Oshawa and the 655 Harwood Avenue project in Ajax. These retrofits aim to modernize existing buildings, improve energy efficiency, and ensure safe, comfortable living conditions for residents. By investing in these upgrades, Durham Region is committed to providing sustainable and affordable housing solutions that meet the needs of its growing community.

Regional partnership sites

The Region of Durham works with partners, including developers and non-profit organizations, to support the development of affordable housing. Below are examples of partnerships:

The Region is in the process of seeking development partners to design, develop, operate and maintain new mixed income rental housing on the Ritson School site in the City of Oshawa.

This revitalization project will transform this community and create a safe, inclusive and desirable neighbourhood to live, grow, visit and stay. This opportunity would provide approximately 500 residential units comprising a mix of not less than 30 per cent affordable units per building, in at least four buildings, together with ground floor non-residential space.

The transformation of the site will include new public spaces, improvements to the existing heritage designated former school building, future abutting buildings and public open space areas. Space planning, remediation and capital improvements to the heritage former school building will be undertaken by the Region to facilitate its transformation into a future community hub. This will be a multi-phase project. It is anticipated that the first stages of development could commence in 2027.

For more information on this project, visit durham.ca/RitsonSchool.

The Province of Ontario owns a seven-acre site in the Town of Whitby, Region of Durham, that has the municipal address of 590 Rossland Road East. It is occupied by a multi-tenant government office building, a parking lot and vacant land. Durham Region owns the adjacent 2.9 acre site at 650 Rossland Road East that contains a Regional Police and Collision Reporting Centre, a parking lot and vacant land. These lands are currently underutilized and hold great potential for redevelopment and housing opportunities.

The Harwood Achilles site, located in downtown Ajax, is another planned partnership initiative that will help address the need for affordable housing. Currently in the predevelopment stage, this site aims to provide mixed affordable and market rental housing for residents. This project will require site plan approval from the Town and could commence by late 2027.

At Home Incentive Program

The At Home Incentive Program (AHIP) supports the development of purpose-built affordable rental housing in Durham Region through direct capital funding and by supporting expedited planning approvals. In the first four years of the program, Regional Council approved $38.5 million in AHIP funding to help create 457 new affordable rental units in Ajax, Brock, Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge and Whitby.

Developer Regional investment Affordable units supported Location
Riverbank Homes $5,500,000 75 109 Colborne Street West, Oshawa
Otter Creek Co-operative Homes $2,500,000 18 835 McQuay Boulevard, Whitby
Ledim Developments $5,000,000 78 310 Kingston Road East, Ajax
Kindred Works, Uxbridge $4,700,000 39 15-23 Main Street, Uxbridge
Muslim Welfare Canada $5,750,000 55 1589-1603 Highway #2, Courtice
Borelia Cooperative Homes Inc. $2,688,000 16 10 Borelia Crescent, Port Perry
1465 King Street Inc. $4,812,000 70 1465 Highway #2, Courtice
ACA Housing Corp. $750,000 10 82 River Street, Sunderland
Athol Green Inc. $7,250,000 96 0 Athol Street, Oshawa
Total $38,950,000 457  

Homelessness supports

The Region of Durham supports the development of properties that help people on their journey from homelessness to permanent housing. This includes Beaverton Heights, Oshawa Micro-homes and 1635 Dundas Street East.

Beaverton Heights is a 47-unit transitional housing residence that provides accommodation and access to wraparound services to help promote life stabilization. Blue Door, the service operator at Beaverton Heights, provides wraparound supports, including on-site meals in a dining hall, rental and tenant support, and support with life skills building, employment services, mental health and addictions, and other supports.

The micro-homes pilot project in central Oshawa features 10 units for temporary, transitional housing with supports. The micro-home units are located on land acquired by the Region for the Gibb Street and Olive Avenue road realignment and widening project at the corner of Olive Avenue and Drew Street. Once the scheduled road work commences, the units will be relocated to a permanent site.

1635 Dundas Street East is a multi-phase initiative aimed at providing safe and inclusive housing support solutions. Since opening in March 2024, the shelter has provided a safe and supportive environment to over 100 individuals. Phase 2 now focuses on creating housing units with health and social supports and services.

Contact Us

The Regional Municipality of Durham
605 Rossland Road East
Whitby, Ontario Canada L1N 6A3

Telephone: 311 (within region limits)
Telephone: 905-668-7711
Toll-Free: 1-800-372-1102

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