A new University of Waterloo-led research initiative is taking aim at one of the region’s most pressing challenges: the growing gap between incomes and the cost of homeownership.
The Future Cities Institute (FCI) has launched a living lab in partnership with BUILD NOW, an affordable housing initiative led by Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region, to study a new model of “missing middle” homeownership now moving toward construction in Waterloo.
BUILD NOW aims to build 10,000 homes across Canada by 2030, focusing on townhouses, walk-ups, mid-rise, and high-rise buildings designed for families priced out of traditional ownership. Seventy per cent of the homes will be ownership units held under a legal model that keeps them affordable in perpetuity.
