The Tower Renewal Partnership has put together a quick and easy-to-read reference guide or “primer” to Tower Renewal including an introduction to high rise retrofits in Canada, a map showing the distribution of aging apartment units across Canada and the identification of opportunities and recommendations for moving forward with government action.

The Tower Renewal Partnership has put together a quick and easy-to-read reference guide or “primer” to Tower Renewal including an introduction to high rise retrofits in Canada, a map showing the distribution of aging apartment units across Canada and the identification of opportunities and recommendations for moving forward with government action. Recently, Graeme Stewart and Ya’el Santopinto were featured in a helpful article called “How to Renew Our Old Apartment Buildings“. The article showcases the Ken Soble Tower Transformation and…

In August 2019, the Tower Renewal Partnership (TRP) conducted new analysis on incenting nation-wide comprehensive tower retrofits.In particular, tax incentives were modelled and evaluated to understand how they could be used to achieve public policy goals around affordability and renewal. As the federal election approached, this analysis, coupled with existing TRP research formed a suite of federal policy recommendations to further advance and implement wide-scale tower renewal.

Maintain the affordability and supply of Canada’s affordable rental supply. Post-war Apartment Towers provide affordable, purpose-built rental housing to millions of Canadians. Somewhat unique to Canada, the majority of our tower blocks are not social housing but were privately developed under Federal incentive programs, providing a flood of moderately priced rental accommodation through the 1960s and 70s. Over the decades much of this private housing has emerged as our most affordable housing stock, providing key housing to the most vulnerable.…

Photo by Jesse Colin Jackson Update: A new edition of this report is available as of March 12, 2014. It has long been understood that while Toronto’s tower neighbourhoods are areas of social need (see reports “Vertical Poverty,” and “Tower Neighbourhood Renewal in the Greater Golden Horseshoe”), they also provide a vital source of affordable housing in the region. Just how tenuous that affordability can be, however, is the subject of a recent U of T Cities Centre report by…

Vertical Legacy: The case for revitalizing the GTA’s aging rental tower communities As a follow up to Vertical Poverty, United Way has released Vertical Legacy, in collaboration with the Tower Renewal Partnership and University of Toronto, outlining the actions needed now to ensure our legacy towers remain not only standing and affordable, but are also modernized to meet the health, community resilience and climate challenges of our collective future. Legacy towers are home to hundreds of thousands throughout the GTA, and represent the bulk of our purpose-built rental housing.…

Join Graeme Stewart and Ya’el Santopinto as they discuss the Ken Soble Tower retrofit and Tower Renewal Partnership. In the March, Graeme Stewart and Ya’el Santopinto, ERA Architects, sat down with Passive House Canada to discuss the Ken Soble Tower retrofit and Tower Renewal Project. Watch here. “Ultra-low energy retrofits that maintain affordability are not only possible, but critical to preserving and enhancing housing across the country. ” –Graeme Stewart, ERA Architects. Built in 1967, the Ken Soble Tower is…

The Tower Renewal Partnership was recently covered by the Urban Land Institute. The article covers the history of Tower Renewal in Toronto, the landmark Ken Soble Tower passive house retrofit project and ULI’s 2020 report: Affordability and Resilience: The Challenge of Tower Renewal in Private Rental Apartment Buildings. Read the full article.

The Ken Soble Tower Transformation will modernize 146 units of affordable seniors’ housing, while reinvigorating community spaces and outdoor gathering areas, planning for aging-in-place and barrier-free living, and a changing climate. One of the first Passive House retrofits in North America, at 18 storeys and more than 80,000 sqft, the Ken Soble Tower will be one of the largest EnerPHit-certified projects in the world. Slated for completion in 2021, the project will provide residents with improved comfort and control of…

Tower Renewal Partnership’s Graeme Stewart speaks at ULI Panel event and report release On December 3, the Tower Renewal Partnership’s Graeme Stewart joined a virtual expert panel to discuss a new Urban Land Institute (ULI) report on Tower Renewal called “Affordability and Resilience: The Challenge of Tower Renewal in Private Rental Apartment Buildings“. The report and panel sought to provide fresh recommendation around increasing Tower Renewal retrofit activity, particularly to private tower owners. The expert panel’s top recommendations include: Reorganize…

In partnership with the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association of Canada (NAIMA Canada), the Centre for Urban Growth + Renewal has developed an online training resource to help workers in the construction industry become more familiar with retrofitting in occupied buildings. The retrofit industry is still developing in Canada and lacks knowledge, skills, strategies and specialized products to effectively carry out retrofits in occupied buildings. This can lead to inflated costs and risk – or buildings owners avoiding retrofits altogether.…

The Tower Renewal Partnership and the City of Toronto recently partnered with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to bring experts to Toronto for a weeklong visit to explore one of the biggest resilience challenges facing Toronto: retrofitting our aging apartment towers. Experts from across North America formed an Advisory Panel and visited Toronto during the week of February 24 to learn about Toronto’s challenges, meet with leaders on this topic, and make recommendations.  Watch the Advisory Panel’s presentation See the…

In August, the Tower Renewal Partnership (TRP) conducted new analysis on incenting nation-wide comprehensive tower retrofits. In particular, tax incentives were modelled and evaluated to understand how they could be used to achieve public policy goals around affordability and renewal. As the federal election approached, this analysis, coupled with existing TRP research formed a suite of federal policy recommendations to further advance and implement wide-scale tower renewal. The advantage of working with tax incentives to address policy priorities like GHG…

In July, the Tower Renewal Partnership (“TRP”)  released Tower Renewal and Retrofit Finance in support of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s interest in encouraging the retrofit and renewal of Canadian post-war towers. With much of Canada’s affordable purpose-built rental housing in need of renewal, the time to act is now. However, costs – along with the need to maintain affordability – continue to be a primary barrier.  As a result, the TRP has undertaken research uncovering the financial challenges…

In July, the Tower Renewal Partnership (“TRP”)  released Tower Renewal and Retrofit Finance in support of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s interest in encouraging the retrofit and renewal of Canadian post-war towers. With much of Canada’s affordable purpose-built rental housing in need of renewal, the time to act is now. However, costs – along with the need to maintain affordability – continue to be a primary barrier.  As a result, the TRP has undertaken research uncovering the financial challenges…

Today, the federal government released the first round of National Housing Strategy programs, kicking off a new era for housing in Canada. The National Housing Co-Investment Fund’s ‘Repair and Renewal’ stream targets the repair of 240,000 units, with $2.26 billion in capital contributions and $3.46 billion in low-cost, long-term loans. This stream will help to catalyze Tower Renewal across the country, benefiting Canadians living in both public and privately-owned housing. These programs represent significant investments toward the preservation of existing…

  Dec 1, 2017 –   The National Housing Strategy (NHS) is a once-in-a-generation commitment to building and renewing affordable housing in Canada. Released in November 2017, the strategy supports and enables many of the key goals of Tower Renewal, with a focus on housing rehabilitation toward healthy, high-quality, low-carbon outcomes across both publicly- and privately-owned buildings.     Specifically, the NHS aims to rehabilitate 240,000 existing affordable rental units, which in turn will meet energy and performance targets set by…

The Tower Renewal Action Forum took place on October 5, 2017 at the Evergreen Brick Works. The event assembled international experts and local city-builders to explore innovative strategies for transitioning aging tower neighbourhoods to meet the demands of our 21st century cities. With over 150 stakeholders in attendance, there was representation from government, nonprofit, private, public and community associations. Workshops and panel discussions showcased best practices at home and abroad, to focus on housing resilience and rehabilitation, neighbourhood transformation, and the maintenance of affordability in…

  Postwar apartment towers are the backbone of Canada’s purpose-built rental stock, and provide affordable housing to millions of Canadians. Our recent map, accessed here, showcases the extent of towers across the nation. As Canada faces a growing housing affordability crisis, now is the time for coordinated action to build a future around more complete, resilient, and affordable cities. Tower Renewal is a strategy for realizing this change. The Tower Renewal Action Forum took place on October 5, 2017 at the…

Canada faces a growing housing affordability crisis. Now is the time for coordinated action to build a future around more complete, resilient, and affordable cities – and Tower Renewal is a strategy for realizing this change. Postwar apartment towers are the backbone of Canada’s purpose-built rental stock, and provide affordable housing to millions of Canadians. On October 5th, 2017, international experts and local city-builders came together to explore innovative strategies for transitioning these aging apartment tower neighbourhoods to meet the demands of our…

The Intermunicipal Tower Platform brings together Ontario’s four largest cities, including Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, and Hamilton, to secure the future resilience of Ontario’s tower neighbourhoods.

Ontario’s post-war apartment towers provide affordable rental housing to more than one million people. These buildings are aging and urgently require rehabilitation, as well as stronger connections to goods, services and transit networks. The renewal of Ontario’s sizable stock of post-war apartment towers represents an opportunity to advance both provincial and municipal goals related to housing quality, affordability, complete communities and greenhouse gas emission reduction. Improving the resilience of apartment tower housing will provide tremendous social and environmental gains across Ontario’s…

There are global efforts underway to quantifiably reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2050. The Paris Agreement, and subsequent national strategies, have catalyzed policies such as the Ontario Climate Change Action Plan, which provides targets for reducing GHG emissions over the next five years in pursuit of a low carbon economy. Post-war apartment towers have been found to be among Ontario’s most energy intensive buildings, with data suggesting they require as much as 25% more energy per square metre than…

View videos, CUG+R TALKS, the  GALLERY and NEWS sections for more content.     Pechakucha: Tower Renewal 101 A crash course in Tower Renewal by Graeme Stewart.                     Tower, Slab, Superblock: Social Housing Legacies and Futures A conference hosted by the Architectural League of New York that examined the history, current status, and prospects of high-rise and superblock residential development. Experts discussed the potential for redevelopment from design and public policy perspectives. The Life- Sized…

This instrument could be a key tool for private, public and non-profit owners to improve the quality and energy performance of their buildings, while maintaining the long-term affordability of this housing supply.

As part of the ongoing work related to Tower Renewal, ERA and the Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal are consulting with the federal government on the emerging National Housing Strategy. See Graeme Stewart in Ottawa summarizing strategies to ensure the preservation of Canada’s aging apartment housing stock, and to support its rehabilitation through Tower Renewal. A consultation and solutions workshop held in Ottawa focused on the key issue of ‘Maintaining and Preserving Existing Rental.’ Home to millions across Canada,…

What is Tower Renewal? Tower Renewal is a strategy that promotes, supports and directs enhancement and reinvestment in Canada’s affordable apartment tower stock. During the boom years of the 1960s and 70s, Canada built a significant volume of modern apartment towers in response to rapid urbanization. Predominantly privately developed, but supported by public planning policy and incentives, these towers shape the urban and suburban landscape cross county – with at least 750,000 Canadian households calling them home.  Half a century…

Retrofitting modern housing for today’s standards of comfort, health, safety and dignity. Designed using modern principles of housing equity – light, air, and space for all – our legacy of apartment towers was built with solid foundations to meet tomorrow’s housing needs. Today this housing infrastructure is aging. Providing homes to millions, often those of lower income, the state of repair of some of this housing is becoming a challenge. Future viability requires overcoming two challenges: modernization to meet today’s…