Affordable Housing Solutions for Muskokans
Welcome to the Muskoka Community Land Trust
The Muskoka Community Land Trust was created in response to the District of Muskoka’s Housing and Homelessness Task Force in 2019, and was formally incorporated as a non-profit in 2021. Led by a board of nine dedicated volunteers representing a diverse cross-section of Muskoka, the MCLT is dedicated to non-profit housing development with a strong emphasis on sustainability and affordability.
Our mission is to build homes that not only provide shelter, but also promote community health and well-being while minimizing environmental impact. By prioritizing energy efficiency and utilizing sustainable building materials, we aim to create a model for affordable housing that can serve as a blueprint for future developments.
Florence Street Micro-Community Initiative
We are working closely with the District of Muskoka and the Town of Huntsville to acquire land and build a micro-community of eco-affordable housing. On October 25th, Town Council voted unanimously to proceed to the next phase. Read about our delegation here.
The Florence Street Micro-Community Initiative is in a central location, within walking distance to the downtown core of Huntsville, with room for 179 units, designed as a mixed-income, diverse neighbourhood with units that are affordable for people earning 75-80% of Area Median Income, including the local workforce, seniors, single parent families, and vulnerable populations.
Phase one of the development will be two multi-residential buildings with 36 rental units apiece. Future phases include more rentals, cooperative housing, and potentially home-ownership and rent-to-own tenancy models, all on land retained and stewarded by the Land Trust and leased to residents, in buildings designed for low upfront embodied carbon, healthy and climate resilient materials, and energy-efficient operations.
The G.R.E.A.T. Project
The crisis of lack of affordable and accessible housing is directly connected to the climate crisis. We should and can address both together.
The Muskoka Community Land Trust is a founding partner of G.R.E.A.T. (Green Rural Environmental Affordable Together), alongside Fourth Pig Green & Natural Construction, Christian Horizons, Community Living, and Tooketree Passive Homes.
G.R.E.A.T. has received funding from the National Housing Strategy and the Investment Readiness Program to demonstrate the viability of a purpose-built rental sixplex that is sustainable, with a mix of deeply affordable and accessible, below market, and market rental units. Our goal is for G.R.E.A.T. to be one of the first tenants of the Florence Street Micro Community Initiative.
Community Affiliations
This project is part of the Investment Readiness Program funded by the Government of Canada’s SI/SF Strategy.