This project supports the Region of Waterloo's strategic focus areas:
In 2021, the Region of Waterloo established the Building Better Futures initiative, which sets a clear target for the Region to work alongside federal, provincial, non-profit and private sector partners towards the creation of 2,500 new affordable homes across the Region. This strategy includes identifying vacant Regional lands for the purpose of developing affordable housing. To support this initiative, the Region of Waterloo will be seeking proposals for a land lease of 30 Lauris Avenue in Cambridge to develop mixed-income housing units.
Request For Proposals (30 Lauris Avenue, Cambridge) - Closed November 15, 2024 - Currently Evaluating Submissions
On October 7th, 2024, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was released on the Region's Bids & Tenders page (Bids and Tenders - ROW). The Request for Proposal seeks a qualified developer for the development and management of affordable rental housing for low to moderate income households. 30 Lauris Avenue will be maintained in Regional ownership through a land lease for a term not less than 57 years. A timeline on development will be determined once a development partner is selected for the project.
View details here: https://regionofwaterloo.bidsandtenders.ca/Module/Tenders/en/Tender/Detail/910b5276-ea48-4e43-a132-0f09b9c4c43b
About the Request for Proposal Process
A public Request for Proposal (RFP) for the development of affordable housing units will be open to private and non-profit developers. A selection committee comprised of Regional staff from Planning, Development, and Legislative Services, Housing, Facilities, and Procurement will evaluate the submissions based on an established evaluation framework, which will include weighted measures, focused on, but not limited to:
- Regional Guidelines: Submission of specific deliverables that address things like built form, context-sensitivity, open space, amenity provisions, and leading-edge innovation in social and environmental sustainability;
- Number of Affordable Units: Percentage of affordable housing units above a minimum of 30% and depth of affordability (affordable is defined as rents at or below 80% of Median Market Rent);
- Duration of Affordability: Target a minimum 40-year duration of affordability. This could include innovative land-lease proposals or agreements and weighted ranking criteria;
- Fit: Integration into the community (e.g. through design excellence and use of high-quality materials);
- Accessibility: Accessibility features above minimum building code requirements, achieve VisAbility or universal design standards;
- Sustainability: Promote net-zero operational carbon targets;
- Community Benefit: Consider a community space and/or commercial service where specified through the RFP:
- Commit to providing a smoke-free building;
- Consider community benefit agreement through a commitment to provide training of skilled labour to apprentices and/or un/underemployed individuals, and/or to incorporate youth employment opportunities during construction;
- Consideration given to a submission that will pilot innovative partnership opportunities (e.g., special long-term land lease agreements, targeted tenure (ownership vs. rental accommodations), depth of affordability, specific community benefits); and
- Other criteria as established.
Background
- On May 11, 2021, the Affordable Housing Framework outlined the development of an innovative strategy to accelerate the development of affordable homes across Waterloo Region over the next five years (Report CSD-HOU-21-05/PDL-ECD-21-05). The strategy, Building Better Futures, encompasses strategic funding investments by the Region and a leveraging of federal and provincial grant programs to supplement these efforts in the creation of up to 2,500 new affordable homes along with our partners. The strategy also includes the use of lands surplus to the needs of the Region for the purposes of developing affordable housing, furthering efforts to achieve affordability for all.
- The RFP and disposition process presents an opportunity to target specific housing needs in Waterloo Region, and to incorporate the learnings from the Beechwood affordable housing project initiated in 2020. The Region is developing community profiles for each site to ensure projects are responsive to neighbourhood needs.
Planning Act Applications for the Site
Consent Applications B14/23, B15/23 and B16/23 - Sever three new residential lots
Status: Approved with conditions by the City of Cambridge on May 31, 2023.
Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment OR03/23 - To assess opportunities for increased density on the property, allow for building typology to include apartments, rezone the lands from N1R4 to N1RM3 and align site-specific parking rates with supporting studies.
Status: Approved by the City of Cambridge on December 20, 2023.
About the Site
This 0.93 Hectare (2.3 Acre) property has frontage on the west side of Lauris Avenue and the east side of Elgin Street North, in the City of Cambridge.
Our fact sheet contains up-to-date information about this property.
Lot Size | 0.93 Hectares/2.3 Acres (Irregular) |
Zoning | Institution 1; Residential 4 (N1R4) |
Official Plan | Low / Medium Density Residential |
Restrictions/ Encumbrances | Easements exist on the property. Refer to Legal Description. |
Past Reports:
Public Information Sessions
No upcoming public information sessions at this time.
Past Public Information Sessions
- City of Cambridge Council Meeting, City of Cambridge Council Chambers: Tuesday, October 24, 2023, 6:30PM
- Planning - Statutory Public Meeting, City of Cambridge Council Chambers: Tuesday, August 8, 2023, 6:30PM
- Virtual Information Session: Wednesday, July 19, 2023, 7:00PM - 8:00PM
- In-person Information Session (drop-in): Wednesday, July 12, 2023, 5:30PM - 7:30PM at The W, 20 Dickson Street Unit 101, Cambridge, Ontario
- Virtual Information Session: Thursday, May 25, 2023, 7:00PM - 8:00PM
- In-person Information Session (drop-in): Thursday, May 18, 2023, 5:30PM - 7:30PM at Alison Neighbourhood Community Centre, 127 Elgin Street North, Cambridge, Ontario
Questions? Feedback?
The Region of Waterloo hosted public information sessions for the community to ask questions about the property, the recent Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment applications, and how this work will support housing affordability in our community. Input was gathered from the community and included in the RFPs to help inform submissions for development.
Did you miss the past public information sessions? Not to worry, recordings of the virtual sessions are available in the videos tab on the right of this page and the presentation boards are available in the documents tab.
If you have any questions or feedback, please reach out to Ashley Graham, Senior Development Planner, Land Portfolio at ashgraham@regionofwaterloo.ca
