Unlocking federal lands for housing

00:00:00:00

[Audio: Rhythmic music playing.]

[Visual: A woman with long, dark hair sits at a desk in front of a blue background. She wears red lipstick and a yellow sweater. A keyboard, a mouse, a mug and a tablet sit on the desktop.]

JOELLE HAMILTON: We've all heard that housing supply has struggled to keep up with growing demand for years, even decades.

00:07:00:00

[Visual: Signs read, "Ottawa. Applicant's proposal," "Danger. Construction Area. Authorized personnel only," and "Wateridge Village Lowrise Construction Office Entrance" with an arrow. The "Ottawa Applicant's proposal" sign stands at the edge of an empty lot in front of the Mikinàk community, composed of three gray and white condominium buildings peppered with colourful panels.]

JOELLE: Many in the housing industry, have said that we need to increase supply to restore housing affordability. Converting existing federal properties into homes is one way to increase supply.

00:20:00:00

[Visual: A montage of clips: newly built residential homes during the day, vehicles driving through a city intersection at night, newly built condominium buildings during the day, and a cityscape with a tall building under construction at sunset.]

00:25:00:00

[Visual: Slide with text that reads, "Ask an expert."]

JOELLE: Canada's housing affordability crisis is a growing challenge.

00:29:00:00

[Visual: Joelle sits at the desk. A text box that reads, "Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing, CMHC" appears in the lower left corner.]

JOELLE: In this episode, we'll explore how unused federal lands and buildings are being turned into housing and hear from an expert about how this process works.

00:39:00:00

[Visual: Slide with text that reads, "Identifying Land/Buildings."]

JOELLE: Identifying suitable land or buildings for housing isn't just about location—it's about potential.

00:47:00:00

[A man with short, curly brown hair and glasses sits in a bright office. He wears a black jacket and a light-blue shirt. A text box that reads "Victor Garcia, Manager, Programs, CMHC" appears and disappears.]

VICTOR GARCIA: Once we identify an unused federal property, we look at its potential to be developed. How many units can it accommodate? How affordable can we make these units? And can we ensure they stay affordable in the long term?

01:01:00:00

[Visual: In animation, eight rectangles appear on an empty lot bordered by houses. In another animation, various types of single and multi-occupant homes appear and disappear on an empty lot near a river. A bilingual English-French sign posted in front of an empty lot reads, "Prime Development Land For Sale." Another sign reads, "New Phase."]

VICTOR: Getting answers to these questions means taking a deep dive into many factors: zoning regulations, energy efficiency, accessibility, proximity to transit and amenities. These are all factors to be considered when moving forward with development projects.

01:19:00:00

[Visual: Slide with text that reads, "Leasing or Buying Federal Properties."]

JOELLE: Once a property is identified, there are two main options: lease or buy.

01:26:00:00

[Visual: A forest surrounds a green field. A short metal tube fence encloses a dirt lot. A road borders a lot with several types of buildings under construction.]

VICTOR: Both leasing and buying have their own perks. Leasing is more affordable upfront and can make it easier for developers to get started, especially smaller developers. Buying, on the other hand, helps build long-term financial stability and growth. The right choice really depends on the project's needs, the organization's goals, and the resources they have to work with.

01:50:00:00

[Visual: Slide with text that reads, "How the Federal Lands Initiative Works."]

JOELLE: One key program making this possible is the Federal Lands Initiative or FLI.

01:57:00:00

[Visual: Victor sits in the office.]

VICTOR: It helps connect unused federal lands and buildings with organizations committed to creating affordable, transitional, and social housing, and shelters.

02:05:00:00

[Visual: The sun shines on the green field and the empty lot near the river.]

VICTOR: Lands that are either vacant or have buildings on them that are no longer useable get a second life as affordable housing.

02:14:00:00

[Visual: Images of two styles of apartment buildings and the Mikinàk community scroll past.]

VICTOR: Eligible applicants can acquire these properties at discounted rates and even no cost, depending on the social outcomes their proposals achieve.

02:22:00:00

[Visual: Slide with text that reads, "Organizations that benefit from the Federal Lands Initiative: community housing organizations, NPOs or charities, co-operatives, other levels of government and their agencies, Indigenous governments and organizations, for profit organizations."]

VICTOR: It's all about lowering barriers for developers, non-profits, and other organizations that are empowering them to focus resources on building housing solutions that directly benefit communities in need.

02:35:00:00

[Visual: Slide with text that reads, "Success Stories Mikinàk Community."]

JOELLE: Take the Mikinàk community in Ottawa, for example—a development that transformed surplus land into much-needed homes.

02:43:00:00

[Visual: A man with gray hair sits in a studio. He wears a black suit and a light-blue shirt. A text box that reads "Cliff Youdale, Chief Development Officer, Ottawa Community Housing" appears and disappears.]

CLIFF YOUDALE: Building large-scale projects, when you're talking hundreds of units, doesn't happen overnight. It takes a long time to get the land zoned. You have to secure infrastructure work. Then, you have to secure the funding to advance that.

02:57:00:00

[Visual: A sign reads, "715 Mikinak." Stylized turtles decorate the top of the signpost. The "Ottawa Applicant's proposal" sign comes into focus. A sprawling empty lot extends across the street from the Mikinàk community.]

CLIFF: Having a federal partner with that long-term vision is mission critical to us advancing, and having that ability to know that you have land available to you to tie that into your plans and create those opportunities is really core to success.

03:14:00:00

[Visual: Cliff sits in the studio.]

CLIFF: And the project we're at here, we refer to as Mikinàk.

03:17:00:00

[Visual: The three condominium buildings form a U-shape around a large parking lot. A metal fence encloses a nearby lot. A basketball hoop rises over a chain-link fence. One of the buildings faces a park with a walking path. Sunlight reflects on solar panels covering one of the building's rooftops.]

CLIFF: It's 271 units of affordable housing over three buildings. It's a great facility. We're particularly proud of it. And we currently have over a thousand units in construction, and we're advancing another thousand into a design-ready state. So this is really the future for OCH, it's the future for affordable housing. We really have to be creative about ways of creating new inventory to meet the increasing demand.

03:47:00:00

[Visual: Slide with text that reads, "What's Next?"]

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing, CMHC]

JOELLE: Looking ahead, unlocking federal lands and buildings could be a game changer in solving Canada's housing crisis.

03:54:00:00

[Visual: Joelle sits at the desk.]

JOELLE: But it requires continued collaboration, innovation, and the right policies.

04:01:00:00

[Visual: Aerial view of multi-unit buildings and homes, then view of a multi-unit building from the road. The "Ottawa Applicant's proposal" sign stands at the edge of the lot across from the Mikinàk community. A sign reads, "Mikinak Parking: 1380 Hemlock, 255 Bareille Snow, 715 Mikinak."]

VICTOR: My hope is that we continue to see more of these projects. It's easier if we find properties that are already zoned and serviced for housing, and close to amenities like shops, schools, and transit. But that's not always the case, which is why innovation and collaboration are so important. Governments, developers, non-profits, and communities have to come together to improve housing solutions.

04:27:00:00

[Visual: Joelle sits at the desk.]

JOELLE: Converting unused federal lands and buildings into housing is one of the many ways we can address the housing crisis.

04:33:00:00

[Visual: Aerial view of multi-unit buildings and homes. A sign reads, "Coming soon, New Phase" outside Mikinàk.]

JOELLE: By working together, we can create more affordable and inclusive homes and help more Canadians find a place to live.

04:43 :00:00

[Visual: Slide with text that reads, "Subscribe on YouTube."]

04:49:00:00

[The Canada wordmark appears next to the CMHC logo.]