Yesterday, an ambitious approach to local housing affordability became a reality at 2025 University Avenue East.
BUILD NOW: Waterloo Region officially broke ground on Union 1, an 85-unit non-profit rental building that marks phase one of a master plan to deliver housing low and middle-income families can actually afford. The building will be owned and operated by Union Community Housing, and it represents the first of many buildings to come.
The Future Cities Institute founded by CAIVAN is proud to serve as the academic partner on BUILD NOW. While a groundbreaking is a wonderful milestone to celebrate with our community partners, for FCI, it also marks the starting line for a long-term research relationship.
A few years ago I promised we were going to fix things. We were going to make housing that people can afford.
Our role is to study this initiative closely and capture the deep learning it offers. Housing models like this one are rare, and we will be documenting what works, what doesn't, and how different sectors can successfully build together at this scale. The evidence-backed lessons generated on this site are exactly what other Canadian communities will need if they are going to follow this path.
