Rapid Housing Initiative

Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI)

The Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) provides funding to support the rapid development of permanent, new affordable housing units. It is delivered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) under the National Housing Strategy (NHS). 

The new affordable housing units must be either new construction, conversion of non-residential buildings into affordable housing, or repair of existing residential buildings that are no longer in the housing stock. They are meant for vulnerable populations prioritized by CMHC under the NHS.

Through three rounds of RHI, $4 billion in federal funds has been allocated for the development of over 15,000 new affordable homes across Canada. Projects within Calgary have secured RHI funds through each round and will result in a significant number of new affordable homes for Calgarians. 

Contact RHI

If you have questions about RHI, please submit all inquiries via email.

Email rhi@calgary.ca

Round 1

  • Horizon 12 project

    Onward

    The Horizon 12 project was a hotel conversion and consists of 33 units for vulnerable women, including Indigenous women. The total amount of funding for this project from the RHI was $8.3 million. The project commenced in Dec 2021 and was completed in May 2022. The funding is from the Cities stream of the RHI.

  • Vista Apartments

    Silvera for Seniors

    The Vista apartments project was a hotel conversion with 120 units for seniors to live independently. The total amount of funding for this project from the RHI was $15.5 million. The project commenced in March 2021 and was completed in March 2022. The funding is from the Major Cities stream of the RHI.

  • Boreal Place at Forest Lawn

    HomeSpace Society

    The Forest Lawn project was a rehabilitation of an abandoned building with 25 units and open to youth and Calgarians experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The total amount of funding from the RHI is $800,000. The funding is from the Cities stream of the RHI. The project commenced in August 2021 and was completed in December 2021.

Round 2

In April of 2021, the federal budget identified an additional $1.5B investment for a second round of RHI. Eligible applicants from round one were offered the opportunity to submit for funding for the second round.

Administration explored options to better support and position Calgary projects for the second round of RHI, including providing City capital support for projects, continued administration of the City’s Housing Incentive Program and fast-tracking municipal approvals for affordable housing projects.

Council approved the use of $5.5M from COFLEX and up to $9M in municipal capital funding to support proposals to leverage dollars under the second round of RHI. As a result of these efforts, CMHC identified over $30.7M of additional RHI funding for Calgary projects, including one additional project to receive funding through the Cities Stream and two projects to receive funding under the Projects Stream.

  • Neoma Project

    HomeSpace Society

    The Neoma project was a first-of-its-kind office conversion in Calgary’s downtown with 82 units for Calgarians experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The project obtained a total of $16.6 million from the Cities stream with additional funding of $5.5million from The City. The project commenced in August 2021 and was completed in September 2022.

  • Livingston Terrace

    Silvera for Seniors

    The Livingston Terrace is a traditional construction project with 35 units catered to seniors to help with independent living. The project obtained approximately $7 million from the Projects stream and $2.6 million from The City. The project commenced in April 2022 and is expected to be completed in April 2024.

  • YW Taylor Family Home

    YWCA Calgary

    The YW Taylor Family Home is a traditional build project with 21 units catered to vulnerable women and children fleeing domestic violence. The project received approximately $7.1 million from the Projects stream and $2.4 million from The City. The project commenced construction January 2022 and was completed in March 2023.

Round 3

Calgary was one of 41 municipalities selected to receive RHI 3 funding. The City was allocated funding through the Cities Stream, The City also supported organizations with their Projects Stream applications. The total funding for RHI 3 is approximately $15.7 million from CMHC with additional funding from The City totalling approximately $2 million.

CMHC’s application window for the Cities and Project streams was open from December 12, 2022, until March 15, 2023. With the funding, The City has selected two recipients to help deliver new affordable housing units; Onward (previously Horizon Housing Society) and HomeSpace Society.

  • Killarney

    Onward

    The Killarney is a traditional construction project with 29 units catered to vulnerable women and their children. The project received approximately $8.4 million from the Cities stream and $1.15 million from The City. The project commenced in July 2023 and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024.

  • Crescent Heights (Hope Heights)

    HomeSpace Society

    Hope Heights is a traditional construction project with 35 units catered to possibly accommodate women and children fleeing domestic violence, seniors, young adults, Indigenous Peoples, or people with disabilities. The project received approximately $7.37 million from the Major Cities stream and 872,976 from The City. The project commenced in April 2023 and is expected to be completed by Fall 2024. HomeSpace is partnering with builders Hopewell Residential who have donated $1.4M in building costs towards the project.

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