CMHC’s Housing Accelerator Fund
Located in southwestern Ontario, the City of London was the first municipality qualified by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to apply for its Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF).
CHMC describes the HAF as “incentive funding to local governments encouraging initiatives aimed at increasing housing supply. The [HAF] also supports the development of complete, low-carbon and climate-resilient communities that are affordable, inclusive, equitable and diverse.”
Prior to the announcement of the HAF, the City of London was actively seeking solutions to address its housing crisis and had prepared a framework of projects to support its initiative. Once the application was announced, the city was in a good position to apply, but knew that it could benefit from the support of an external consultant to assist with the funding application process.
The City of London was the first municipality to receive Canada’s Housing Accelerator Fund.
The city plans to use the $74M grant to develop 2,000 additional housing units over the next three years.
Our advisors supplemented the city’s capacity and supported it throughout the development of its application.
Application support and development
Federal funding applications can be quite lengthy and complex, requiring input from various city departments and project experts. With limited resources to dedicate toward developing a strong application, the city engaged our infrastructure advisory team to assist with its submission.
Our advisors worked closely with the City of London to select projects that exemplified its expertise and experience and built out project timelines – including milestone activities. We also supplemented the city’s staff to help shape a strong and polished HAF funding application. The city’s readiness to take on this initiative contributed to the success of this application. Clear and consistent communications helped ensure that each city department understood what was needed and could share that information when called upon, which made compiling key information possible.
As the HAF was the first funding application of its kind, there were some hurdles that needed to be worked through by the City of London, CMHC and the Colliers Project Leaders team to ensure that the submitted application fully aligned with the program’s requirements. Our advisors reached out to CMHC staff, who were quick to support and provide clarifications throughout the application process. CMHC’s support and collaboration helped our team develop a well-defined submission.
With a diverse range of experts – including advisors, engineers, and specialized consultants – our project leads are uniquely positioned to tap into a wide variety of external and internal resources.
The Federal government announced the City of London’s successful application in September 2023, and awarded $74 million to the city to accelerate its plans for affordable housing. Over the next three years, the city will use its funding to develop 2,000 additional housing units – which will also help address existing intensification barriers near transit-oriented corridors and other areas.
