Building Home: CCLC's Groundbreaking Housing Project Empowers Newcomers in London

Rendering by Nicholson Sheffield of a new 200-unit building designed to house newcomers in London.

In a first for London’s settlement sector, the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre (CCLC) is moving forward with a project to build about 200 rental units for newcomers.

The building, if approved by London city council, would rise at the site of the Old East 765 Bar and Grill at 763-769 Dundas St.

It features 20 floors for a total of 202 units that will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

CCLC is dubbing the project London’s first “affordable housing project for newcomers” as half of the units will be designated as affordable housing - if financing allows it - meaning they will be rented out below market rents.

“We are really committed to providing a safe and affordable way for newcomers to live in London and to call home,” said Maria Franco, a CCLC spokesperson.

“So with this building, we are really hoping we’ll be able to empower newcomers as they start a new chapter in their lives. It’s hard to come to a new country and really set up roots if you can’t find a home.”

News of the project comes at a time when rents in London have skyrocketed.

According to Rentals.ca, a website used by landlords to advertise their units, the average asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city was $1,756 in August. That jumps to $2,077 for two-bedroom apartments.

Those prices have made finding housing in London that new immigrants can afford more difficult and one of the reasons why CCLC is embarking on this project, Franco said.

Though CCLC already offers temporary accommodations to refugee claimants through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's Resettlement Assistance Program, more support was also needed to assist new immigrants in the city, Franco added.

“We did some research back during the COVID days, and we found that permanent, affordable housing is something that's really a stabilizing factor for newcomer families,” she said.

“All this research and data showed us that something was missing within the London housing market and within what we were offering newcomers because it was so difficult to properly support them without being able to help them with that affordable housing piece.”

Some local politicians are already showing their support for the initiative.

“It’s a terrific project. The need for transitional housing is evident as we open our doors to those suffering around the world,” Ward 8 Coun. Steve Lehman, chairperson of the planning and environment committee, said in an interview with The London Free Press.

“It is great to see this come before us.”

CCLC will soon be launching a fundraising campaign to help support the construction of the building.

The goal will be to raise $2 million through the community, Franco said.

“Right now, we're basically really focusing on the fundraising aspect of it,” she said.

“We're hoping (the building will be built) by next year, but right now we're at the very beginning stages of this.”