Guelph is growing up … literally.
A recently released report from city staff shows more than half the new housing units to come on-stream last year were in apartment buildings, with low-density options accounting for 14 per cent.
There were 1,191 new housing units built in Guelph last year, with apartment units making up 53 per cent of that. Accessory units on existing residential properties came in second, at 22 per cent, followed by townhouses (11 per cent), detached homes (10 per cent) and semi-detached (four per cent).
“When considering longer-term historical housing trends, townhouse and apartment units continue to be the dominant types of newly constructed housing units,” states the report, titled Growth Management and Affordable Housing Monitoring Report 2022. “This shift in the proportion of constructed dwelling types is in large part due to decreased housing affordability and demographic changes.”
That split of housing types is “generally reflective” of the city’s projected mix to 2051, when the city’s population is mandated to reach 208,000 residents, the report states, noting the plan is to have more apartment buildings and townhouses, with fewer single detached homes built.
“Guelph’s existing housing stock is predominantly comprised of low-density housing in the form of single detached and semi-detached units. A shift in the demand for different forms of housing resulting from decreasing housing affordability, combined with policies that promote transit supportive densities is resulting in increased construction of townhouses and apartments,” it continues.
“The increased construction of medium and high-density forms of housing will result in a shift to the city’s housing stock, which is planned to become more balanced by 2051 and accommodate a greater range of housing choice to meet the needs of current and future residents.”
Between 2006 and 2022, the city’s stock of single detached housing decreased to 52 per cent from 61 per cent, with the percentage of apartment buildings going from 14 per cent to 27 per cent.
With 1,191 units created in 2022, that’s the most the city’s seen in a year since 2017, when there were 1,201 built. The 2021 count was 835, with 726 units constructed in 2020 and 1,068 in 2019.
The largest new housing contributors last year were apartment buildings 93 Arthur St. S. (193 units), 78 Starwood Dr. (144 units), 120 Huron St. that includes 33 affordable housing units (117 units, and the first phase of an apartment development at 201 Elmira Rd. S. (105 units).
