Calgary Home Builders Support Affordable Housing Big Time!

Too often (in my mind) Calgary’s homebuilders are accused of building only what will sell and not doing enough to help those in need with housing on social media.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Donate Millions Cash / In-kind

In 2016, it was 11 Calgary homebuilders who stepped up with donations of $1.4M each towards the RESOLVE Campaign, (now called the Calgary Collaboration Campaign). That is a total of $15.5 million dollars from the homebuilders for affordable housing. Allan Norris of Brookfield Residential chaired the campaign and he along with his colleagues ultimately converted their $15.5 million into  $74 million for affordable housing by June 2018.

Those companies were Albi Homes (now Albi Luxury by Brookfield), Brookfield Residential, Cedarglen Homes, Streetside Developments, Morrison Homes, Hopewell Residential, Homes by Avi, Calbridge Homes, Shane Homes, Cardel/Logel Homes and Jayman Master Built (now Jayman Built).   

They not only contributed cash, but they also contributed their construction expertise as each of them has helped build at least one new affordable housing building in collaboration with an affordable housing agency over the past three years. 

Here is a list of the some of the various projects supported by the Calgary Collaborative Projects (formerly RESOLVE):

Stepping Stone Manor (30 homes, Beltline). Homebuilder Cedarglen Living Inc. with on-site support services provided by Calgary Alternative Support Services.

Aurora on the Park (25 homes, Hillhurst/Sunnyside) Homebuilder StreetSide Developments: A Qualico company, with on-site support services provided by Calgary Alpha House Society. 

Providence House (24 homes, Crescent Heights). Homebuilder Morrison Homes, with on-site support services provided by Calgary Alpha House Society. 

Prelude in Radisson Heights (23 homes). Homebuilder Shane Homes Group of Companies with on-site support services provided by The Alex. 

The Maple (26 homes, Renfrew). Homebuilder Homes by Avi with on-site support services provided by Trellis (formerly Aspen Family/Boys & Girls Clubs of Calgary).

The Clayton (26 homes, Bowness). Homebuilder Jayman BUILT Group of Companies with on-site support services provided by Calgary Alpha House Society.  

The James House (27 homes, Hillhurst). Homebuilders Logel Homes and Cardel Homes, with on-site support services provided by McMan Calgary & Area. 

The Triveri House (38 homes, Forest Lawn). Homebuilder Calbridge Homes, with on-site supports services provided by Enviros.

Two major affordable projects funded in part by the Calgary Collaborative Project are Horizon View (210 homes) in Glamorgan, by Horizon Housing and Templemont  (120 homes) in Temple by Trinity Place Foundation of Alberta. 

It should be noted the Calgary Collaborate Project (formerly RESOLVE) provided seed money for these projects, each required additional funding. For example the $36.5 million Templemont project, included $4.2M from the Calgary Collaborate Project, $17M from the Government of Alberta, $10.8M CMHC loan, $1.8M CMHC grant, $350,000 reduction of permit fees from the City of Calgary and $2.4M from the Trinity Place Foundation of Alberta.  Yes, affordable housing is expensive and complex.

Calgary’s Home Builders, through the Collaboration Calgary Projects (formerly RESOLVE) have helped build 1,825 homes for Calgary’s homeless and vulnerable Calgarians over the past three years.  In my mind this is a significant contribution.  

The James House

Other Affordable Housing Initiatives

Attainable Homes Calgary (AHC) works with several Calgary homebuilders to supply attainable homeownership options across the city for home buyers who struggle to save a down payment on their own.

Their current builder partners are Avalon, Brookfield Residential, Mattamy, StreetSide and Trico.

One of the ways they deliver homes is by acquiring inventory from the builder partners at a discount, then selling those homes to moderate-income clients with the help of the down payment assistance loan.

Another way they deliver homes is through building our own attainable projects, as with the Reach Martindale townhouse community right next to the Genesis Centre and near the Saddletowne C-Train station. As of 2020, AHC has helped over 1,000 Calgary families achieve their dream of homeownership.

But wait, it doesn’t stop there either. In 2020, to celebrate the JAYMAN BUILT’s 40th Anniversary, the Westman Charitable Foundation raised $409,000 which they donated equally to four charities including HomeSpace Calgary. And then there are little things JAYMAN BUILT does to help. For example, for HomeSpace’s new Beltline project they staged two showrooms for agencies to see, helped out with the cost of the opening event and paid for a food truck onsite for media and staff.  

JAYMAN isn’t the only Calgary homebuilder who is committed to helping to reduce homelessness in Calgary, they all do it in their own way, often without a lot of fanfare.  

The Legacy by Homespace.

Last Word

Lawrence Braul recently retired CEO of Trinity Place Foundation of Alberta, shared with me that the RESOLVE project,  “demonstrated the value of a large collaborative effort, rather than each agency going after the same donors, one ask was made on behalf of everyone.  It required trust and a belief in collaboration. It proved that collaboration works.” 

I expect the same was true for the 11 Homebuilders who worked together with a shared vision of “helping to reduce homelessness in Calgary.” 

While affordable housing is still a huge issue in Calgary and in cities across North America. Calgary’s home builders, City and not-for-profit agencies are working very hard to address the this issue in multiple ways.

Learn more: Calgary’s Affordable Progress Report.

If you like this blog you will like these links:

Creating A Healthy City Means Affordable Housing for Everyone

Affordable Housing Can Also Be Attractive!

Is Calgary’s 2025 Affordable Housing Plan Flawed?