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victoria park community homes
help bridge the gap between what people can afford and what the market dictates,” says Colin Gage, executive director and CEO of the nonprofit. “By complying with certain governmental rules, we get funding that offsets the debt we incur by providing lower rents.” In Canada, as in the United States, government-assisted programs are having a harder time these days as a result of the rise of smallgovernment movements like the Tea Party. “There’s a certain backlash to social liberalism happening right now—not quite as conservative as what’s happening in the States, but we’re definitely feeling the ripple effects of that mentality rolling out globally,” Gage says. Still, it behooves the Canadian government to provide affordable living, especially in its major urban centres. In large part, this is because costprohibitive rents threaten the vitality of the local economy. “An average family can’t afford rents in excess of $1,000 per month, which in many cases does not include the utilities,” Gage says.
Al Merlo began his family business, Merlo Electric Inc. in 1956 and will celebrate its 55th anniversary this coming April of 2011. Merlo Electric first started as a housing contractor, and over time, diversified to include property maintenance and large construction projects. Today, Merlo Electric is one of the largest and oldest electrical maintenance contractors in Hamilton and continues to offer a wide range of services to its customers, 24 hours a day.
MERLO ELECTRIC 276 Hixon Road Hamilton ON L8K 2C5 P: 905.561.6836 E: merloelectric@shaw.ca
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Victoria Park Community Homes’ position as a private nonprofit housing corporation—the largest in Ontario—partially safeguards against the volatility of political trends and movements. With many of its initial mortgages currently ballooning, the organization has a promising future. “We have a book value of roughly $75 million in mortgages, but it’s closer to $200 million in terms of market value,” Gage explains. This will eventually put the organization and its 70 employees in the more desirable position of being debt-free. This will allow it to have considerably less obligation to the government. Victoria Park Community Homes is also taking a progressive approach to housing placement. “We call it income-integrated housing,” Gage says. “We attempt to assimilate less fortunate individuals by putting them in housing adjacent to market-value housing.” By placing a low-income renter—who might be paying as low as $85 a month in rent after government assistance—in the same building as nonassisted, market-value-paying renters, the organization hopes to inspire and motivate residents with the success of their neighbours. “It’s a form of social engineering,” Gage says. Victoria Park Community Homes’ structure is similar to that of a private corporation, with 12 board members overseeing Gage’s stewardship of the operation. “But we have neither loss nor profit,” he says. “Rather than issuing dividends
community connection > “Rather than issuing dividends, we can turn that money right back around to assist families and individuals with their rent. We’re trying to make as much money as we can, but what we do with that money is quite different than what a private sector company would do with it.” – colin gage, executive director & ceo
as a way to distribute any profits we earn, we can turn that money right back around to assist families and individuals with their rent. We’re trying to make as much money as we can, but what we do with that money is quite different than what a private sector company would do with it.” As executive director, Gage handles the dayto-day operations and management, ensuring Victoria Park Community Homes is viable fiscally and administratively—efficiently providing services to its tenants, guarding against tenants duping the system, and maintaining a central-depository waiting list of those seeking assisted housing. Improvements are continuous; currently, Victoria Park Community Homes is in the midst of a comprehensive process of greening its infrastructure. It’s putting solar panels on roofs, outfitting developments with compact fluorescent lightbulbs, and spending $10 million upgrading properties with new, energyefficient windows and doors. “We’re constantly looking at new avenues by which we can move forward with our goals,” Gage says. The work of Victoria Park Community Homes has come a long way in its 40 years. Its work has transformed a neighbourhood on the edge of displacement into a stable, vibrant community that is successful at helping the less fortunate stay off the streets. The work Victoria Park Community Homes has carried out, and will continue to provide in the future, is not just a testament to the power of community action but an example to be replicated in cities around the country. _a advantagemagazine.ca