Ontario Construction News staff writer
Tridel Builders Inc. is now a development partner with the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) for phases four and five of the Regent Park revitalization. The announcement was made in December by the TCHC board, following a competitive request for proposals (RFP) process.
“Our goal was to realize the best social and financial value for the development of this public asset, leading to the best possible outcomes for tenants and the people of Toronto,” said TCHC Board Chair Tim Murphy. “We have reached that goal through the RFP. Tridel won the contract with a plan that provides outstanding value to the Regent Park community, TCHC and the City of Toronto.”
The plan for phases four and five of the revitalization commits Tridel to a $26.8-million community economic development program that will benefit tenants and residents of Regent Park. The program will be shaped over the next year with regular, frequent and direct input from the community on their priorities.
“TCHC’s approach in Regent Park is transforming the community into a successful, sustainable, mixed-income neighbourhood. We look forward to building on this award-winning work and to completing the final two phases of the revitalization in a manner that is consistent with the vision crafted by the community,” Murphy said.
The Daniels Corporation will continue to be TCHC’s developer partner for Phase 3 to complete all work arising from its partnership with TCHC. The Daniels Corporation, Tridel and Capital Developments were the three developers competing for the contract under the RFP.
TCHC retained an external independent Fairness Commissioner, Justice Coulter Osborne, to oversee the entire procurement to ensure it was unbiased and did not favour or prejudice any one particular proponent.
“TCHC has worked to ensure the RFP process was fair, rigorous and transparent. The process has included an unprecedented level of community involvement, reflecting our commitment to put tenants’ needs at the centre of our decision making. We thank the community for its participation and input, which has helped us to ensure that our process to select a developer partner met the needs of the Regent Park community,” said TCHC President and CEO Kevin Marshman.
“The selection of Tridel builds on our success in Regent Park to date and the work already completed by The Daniels Corporation. We appreciate the significant contributions that Daniels has made during the first three phases. Daniels was instrumental in getting the revitalization started and has been a committed partner to TCHC and a staunch supporter of the Regent Park community.”
Tridel has more than eight decades of diverse experience in home and community building and is also TCHC’s developer partner for the Leslie Nymark and Alexandra Park revitalization projects.
Toronto Community Housing (www.torontohousing.ca) is Canada’s largest social housing provider with homes for close to 60,000 low- and moderate-income households in neighbourhoods across the city. Toronto Community Housing is wholly owned by the City of Toronto and its 2,100 buildings represent a $10-billion public asset.