CreateTO

CreateTO is a centralized real estate agency established by the City of Toronto to find the best ways to use and develop the city’s real estate assets in order to improve the city at large with community and economic benefits.

Made up of more than 24 separate government agencies, this 2018-created consolidation is responsible for managing more than 8,000 city-owned property assets, making this one of the largest and most valuable real estate portfolios in North America.

Having amalgamated the disparate real estate portfolios of BuildTO, the Toronto Port Lands Corporation, the Toronto Parking Authority as well as Toronto City Real Estate, CreateTO signifies the consolidation of all Toronto real estate holdings into a single, centralized entity that will manage and control all surplus city lands and real estate activities.

As a catalyst for creating jobs and increased livability, Build Toronto was responsible for deciding whether to bring a city-owned development through to completion, partner with a developer, or sell the property outright, a conclusion reached after weighing the market demand for surrounding land uses and geotechnical site characteristics, among other considerations.

However, unlike its former incarnation, CreateTO has been empowered with a broader mandate to achieve other city policy objectives. For inaugural CreateTO CEO Brian Johnston, the priority for this newfound agency is to create affordable housing.

“The opportunity is unprecedented given the multi-faceted property holdings that CreateTO has been given as its responsibility,” said Johnston in regards to his new appointment. “There is no shortage of everyday issues to address but perhaps the most pressing is responding to the City’s need for affordable housing.”

The establishment of CreateTO comes just as the Housing Now affordable housing initiative begins to take effect. As part of Mayor John Tory’s ambitious plan to create 40,000 new affordable housing units before 2031, the first of 11 city-owned surplus sites have already begun development.

As CreateTO moves towards fulfilling the Mayor’s goal, they will have their pick of some 8,000 city buildings, parking lots, and vacant lands estimated to be a total worth of some $27 billion.

Out of this wealth of resources, Toronto’s housing difficulties appear to be ultimately addressed by this comprehensive city-wide effort to improve the local quality of life.