Community spaces: from problem to solution

Last month, United Way Greater Toronto released Essential Spaces: Real (Estate) Solutions to Community Needs. Developed in partnership with the Infrastructure Institute at the School of Cities, University of Toronto, the report explores the vital role of community service organizations and one of the biggest issues confronting them today. In particular, it assesses the space-related risks they face, even as they work to meet community needs – and proposes immediate actions to ensure these valuable community assets can continue to strengthen and enrich our neighbourhoods.

We sat down with Ruth Crammond, Vice President, Community Infrastructure, United Way Greater Toronto, to learn more about the research, its findings, what it means for United Way Greater Toronto – and why it all matters.

As the largest social services funder beyond government, we know that community service organizations are the vital connective tissue that holds our neighbourhoods together, providing an array of essential services and crucial public space for residents to connect and engage. Integral to fulfilling this essential role is that these organizations are local and easy to access for the communities they serve.

We also know that our region is growing. And while growth brings many opportunities, it can bring challenges too. We’ve seen the impact on housing affordability. Community service organizations are vulnerable to the same rising costs – even as those trends are also driving increased demand for their services – and in jeopardy, of being priced out of the neighbourhoods they serve or even closure.

Back in 2021-2022, as part of the Social Purpose Real Estate Group, United Way did some early research – a pulse check in the sector. Through the Greater Toronto Non-profit Community Space Survey, we learned that this was an emerging problem.

We realized it warranted more attention. This isn’t niche research. Ensuring our social infrastructure is in a position – literally – to meet community needs and keep pace as our population grows is fundamental to the well-being of this region.

First, that community service organizations are doing an extraordinary job of meeting community needs. That’s great news and quite frankly a real proof point for the United Way approach to community investment. Largely, we found that community service organizations were situated right where we need them.

But we also learned that today’s unprecedented population growth and rising rents are pushing essential community services out of neighborhoods across Peel, Toronto, and York Region.

About 70% of non-profit agency spaces in the GTA are leased, which makes them vulnerable to rising costs and displacement. And those costs have skyrocketed. Over the last decade, occupancy costs for rented spaces have gone up by as much as 57%, putting community service agencies at risk. The very agencies we need most – the ones that are in areas with high needs, like those along transit expansion corridors in Scarborough and Etobicoke – are at greatest risk.

Essential Spaces doesn’t just leave us with tough news; it also points a way forward. It makes five key recommendations that can help us build the long-term solutions we require to keep these critical services where they are most needed. Some are firmly directed towards government, academic institutions and real estate developers. While others are about building the sector’s capacity and expertise and creating new funding streams and partnerships – exactly where United Way Greater Toronto can have some real impact. And all are aligned with our new Community Real Estate initiative.

Through the initiative, we’ll be doubling down on the success we’ve had over the last decade with the community hub model, which brings multiple services and public space under one roof – now in 10 neighbourhoods across the region. We’re committed to building 10 more in the next 10 years and expanding into Peel and York Region.

We’re continuing to partner with the Infrastructure Institute to offer training to agencies as they dip their toes into community real estate and build that new muscle.

We’ll be directing $1.8 million in grants and small capital funds to help agencies with pre-development work – activities like feasibility studies.

We’re developing alternative financing – a community loan fund – so that smaller organizations buy or revamp their spaces.

And, as always, we’re working to broker visionary new partnerships that open up opportunities for community ownership models, as well as non-market and subsidized leases, so that agencies have the stability to provide services now and into the future. Stay tuned. It’s a challenging time, but it’s an exciting one too. Armed with the evidence base that Essential Services provides, we think we are on the right track to meet those challenges head on and land on lasting solutions, so that community service organizations can continue to support people where they live for generations to come.