Community group tries to keep Kensington buildings out of developers' hands, but needs $3M to do it

A Toronto non-profit corporation is trying to save two properties in Kensington Market to keep rents affordable for current tenants, but it has just one month to raise the $3 million it needs to do it.

The Kensington Market Community Land Trust, a group formed to prevent tenants from being pushed out of their homes and maintain the vibrancy of the mixed-use neighbourhood, has made a $4 million offer to purchase the properties at 27 and 29 Kensington Ave. to safeguard six affordable residential units and two stores.

The land trust says it made the offer out of fear that that the properties might be snatched up by investors who might not care about keeping rents affordable for residents and small businesses.

"It's been a regular trend of landlords and developers buying up these properties that have traditionally been affordable housing and turning them into ghost hotels…apartments that are rented out on Airbnb," said Kevin Barrett, co-chair of the land trust.

Instead, the land trust would let current tenants stay and continue to pay affordable rents.

"We're not trying to extract wealth from the community or from these properties," he said. "We're trying to make sure that people have secure tenure and affordability, where they live and work."

It's a model that has worked for other land trusts in the city before, including this one. Land trusts buy property and tenants wind up paying rents far below market rates for years to come. But making the model work relies on extensive fundraising and financing from individuals, organizations and governments.

Barrett says the land trust says believes it can mortgage finance about $1 million, meaning it needs to raise about $3 million through other means. 

The land trust is hoping the city will step up as it did for a past purchase, when it helped the trust buy 54-56 Kensington Ave. with a forgivable loan of $3 million in 2021.

One tenant, Eric Jensen, says that move made all the difference. 

He and his neighbours were about to lose their homes in 2019, after the property was sold to new owners with plans to re-develop it. Jensen says the Kensington Market Community Land Trust coming in to make a purchase turned things around.

"We've been here for a long time. I'm not young anymore," said Jensen. "Now I have security…it's nice to know that my home is going to be affordable for, foreseeably, the rest of my life."

Jensen is semi-retired and on a limited income. He says he has been paying around $850 a month in rent. If he were to lose his apartment, he says he would have to leave the city and pay market rent elsewhere.

"There's a safe feeling when you know your landlord isn't profit-driven to challenge your tenure every year or two," he said.