Mayor John Tori and several city officials were at the scene at 540 Cedarvale Avenue on Thursday as crews began lifting the 59 prefabricated units in place.
The units, in which each studio apartment is housed, will eventually be stacked on top of each other to form a new affordable housing that will provide shelter for the homeless.
The building will be run by a non-profit housing provider and will also have common amenities, including a commercial kitchen that can provide meals to residents.
“These projects are about modular housing, which is done quickly and efficiently and provides these homes at a fairly fast pace.  “But it is also very important for the supports that will be in these homes for the people who live there,” Tori said.  “This is a much better, much more economical, much more humane, much more effective solution for people who have experienced homelessness (from shelters).  We want to move away from the construction of shelters and the trust we have given them over time.  “Providing supportive, affordable housing is the most economical way we can keep people housed and keep people moving on with their lives.”
Several East Yorkers voiced concerns about the vertebrate home last spring, with some questioning the removal of a parking lot near Stan Wadlow Park and others suggesting the density was not appropriate for the neighborhood.
During Thursday’s photo shoot, the area councilor acknowledged that there had been a lot of “provocative” discussions about building the development and “many, many meetings”.
But he said the end result is something that everyone involved can be proud of.
“I understand that these projects are never easy and that is because change is not easy.  “But change is necessary and change is needed,” said the Beaches-East York Counsel.  said Brad Bradford.  “That’s what we’re doing.  I have been a city councilor for a relatively short time, but it has shown me that there is no single picture of the need for housing in this city.  “We have to build all kinds of houses in all kinds of places to achieve our goal and that goal is to ensure that everyone has the basic dignity of a roof over their head.”
The Toronto Modular Housing Initiative is a joint project undertaken in collaboration with the federal government.  The city is contributing nearly $ 29 million to the construction of the homes in phases, while the federals are raising another $ 18.75 million in funding through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.