Ontario Construction Report staff writer
The City of Hamilton has reached an agreement with non-profit affordable housing developer Crosswalk Communities to deliver up to 60 affordable rental apartments at 5 and 13 Lake Ave. S. in Stoney Creek.
Crosswalk Communities will work with several partners to deliver the project, including ATCO, Skygrid Construction, SpruceLab and Purpose Building.
“This agreement marks a significant milestone from vision to execution,” Jeanhy Shim, co-founder and CEO of Crosswalk Communities said in a statement. “The city stepping up with land, pre-development funding and a nominal ground lease, and Crosswalk bringing a commitment to build affordable housing backed by experience, expertise and a ‘best-in-class’ development team.”
The development will include units for residents facing housing challenges, with 20 per cent of the apartments prioritized for veterans.
The agreement launches the next phase of development, including detailed design, planning approvals and pre-construction work.
Homes will be built using modular construction methods, a practice the city says will help speed up delivery while reducing environmental impacts. The building is designed to meet Rick Hansen Foundation accessibility standards and achieve the highest National Energy Code of Canada targets for energy performance.
Hamilton will lease the land to Crosswalk Communities at a nominal rate and provide $500,000 through the Housing Secretariat’s Affordable Housing Development Project Stream to support pre-development costs.
“By using surplus City lands to create more affordable housing, we’re taking practical action to increase housing options, strengthen our neighbourhoods and support people at every stage of life,” Mayor Andrea Horwath said in a statement.
The sites were previously identified by the city for affordable housing. The property at 13 Lake Ave. S. was declared surplus in 2017, while 5 Lake Ave. S. was declared surplus in 2023.
Pre-development work was completed in early 2025 and the city began accepting proposals from non-profit affordable housing providers in April 2025 with a request for proposals requiring a minimum of 30 per cent of apartments to be offered at 80 per cent of AMR. Crosswalk Communities’ proposal will provide 100 per cent affordable units at that rate.
Hamilton’s Housing Sustainability and Investment Roadmap was adopted in 2023 and officials say about 30 housing projects are expected to be under development within three years, creating an estimated 1,455 affordable, 511 supportive and 138 attainable housing units.