TRANSFORMATIVE: Affordable housing project pushes forward with major assist from WRCF impact investment
Waterloo Region developer Maxwell Building Consultants building 240 units for a ‘wide range’ of needs
Throughout their decades in real estate development, Mike Maxwell and his brother, Peter, have always kept an eye on what comes next.
It’s in that spirit that Maxwell Building Consultants engaged — along with others - in roundtable discussions about affordable housing in Waterloo Region close to a decade ago.
“We love participating in those types of discussions. We love it when action comes out of it,” company president Mike Maxwell said.
Action did indeed come out of it. After years of working exclusively in the private for-profit sector, Maxwell Building Consultants completed their first affordable housing project in 2018, followed by another similar project in 2021.
There would be more where that came from.
It was during those roundtable discussions in and around 2016-2017 that a relationship between Maxwell and Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) took root. From that networking came Maxwell’s most ambitious affordable housing project to date.
Rendering of 55 Franklin project
The company 55 Franklin GP Inc. was created in 2020 to purchase and develop 55 Franklin St. S. in Kitchener (north of Fairview Park Mall). The completed development will consist of four six-storey buildings with each building containing 60 apartments, for a total of 240 residential units, with 50% of the units at or below the median market rate.
The first building was completed with occupancy in January 2023 and the second building in 2024 with August occupancy. Construction of the third building is underway with anticipated occupancy in October 2025, and it’s expected that the fourth project will break ground in May 2025.
“Our buildings are mixed income so there’s a wide range. We have one-bedroom apartments that start at about $550 a month and they go all the way up to market rent, which is about $1,650 to $1,700 for a one-bedroom,” Maxwell said, adding he has witnessed what this housing has meant to many tenants.
“It’s a really diverse group in the buildings. We’ve seen hands-on how stable affordable housing can literally transform people's lives. There’s less stress,” he said.
The 55 Franklin project is a reality in part thanks to an impact investment from WRCF, which provided two loans valued at $900,000 each for the land portion of the third and fourth installments of the project.
“It’s transformative,” Maxwell said of the impact investment.
The financial help has given his firm the ability to continually move forward with the plans and avoid any stalls with construction or financial holdups.
Rendering of 55 Franklin project
“It means that we’re a year or two faster to occupancy, and for groups that are in need of affordable housing or of any housing, that means a lot. Nobody can live in a planning approval or a building permit application or a land acquisition. They move in when the building is done,” he said. “So, if we can pull those forward a year or two, that’s the true impact. It allows us to do more in the same amount of time.”
He added: “Then there’s the security that comes with an affordable apartment. This isn’t something that’s a one-year or a two-year thing. People don’t need to worry about losing their housing, which allows them to think about their future and other priorities.”
WRCF currently works to deploy 10% of its assets to impact investments focused on making social or environmental impact, primarily in Waterloo Region. Since 2017, WRCF has made 25 impact investments, like the 55 Franklin project
“It’s been a real pleasure working with Mike and the experience that he has brought. I know he spent a lot of time early in his career on for-profit projects. Now, he’s really intentionally looking at how to tackle some of these issues of affordability. It’s really refreshing,” said John Bowden, WRCF’s Director, Financial Services. “It makes a difference in the community one apartment at a time.”
The first loan has already been repaid, ahead of schedule, and both parties anticipate the same for the second loan repayment.
Framing Progress at 55 Franklin
“The idea of paying it off early is right on plan for them,” Bowden said. “That’s just a reflection of Mike doing a good job progressing these projects along. He gets done faster and then we get paid out earlier, which means WRCF has more funds back in our pool to redeploy and try to help somebody else. We’re happy with it and it’s working really well.”
While providing access to affordable housing is exciting, perhaps the most exciting part of this project is that it is an easy one to duplicate, Maxwell said. By building four identical buildings, such a project can benefit from using the same tradespeople and other such efficiencies all using a single blueprint.
“It’s a model. This is replicable. Other entities can do what we’re doing. The opportunity to replicate this model, this partnership, is almost limitless,” he said. “We really look forward to the potential to replicate this model... and to celebrate more wins with partnership agencies. The need for affordable housing isn’t going away.”
For more information about Maxwell Building Consultants, visit maxwellbuilding.co.
For more information on WRCF’s impact investing efforts and to apply for an impact investment, go to wrcf.ca/local-impact-investing.
If you would like to learn more about partnering with WRCF to make impact investments, including establishing your own Donor Advised Fund, contact Dan Robert at dan@wrcf.ca or 519-725-1806 x 205.