This article was first published by NewmarketToday, a Village Media publication.
After spending 10 years on the waitlist, 70-year-old Joe Ma has finally moved into a senior apartment in Markham.
Unionville Commons, located in the heart of Markham, is the largest community housing building in York Region, offering 265 one and two-bedroom apartments for older adults.
A grand opening ceremony for the facility was held on May 31. According to a joint announcement by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and the Regional Municipality of York, construction began in 2019 and was completed in June 2023. All units were leased within four months.
Ma moved in last August, having registered for senior housing a decade ago without knowing where he would eventually reside.
"I applied for a senior apartment when I was 60," Ma said. "I didn’t know where I would be assigned, how big the apartment would be, or how long it would take."
Statistics from York Region Housing Services indicate that by the end of 2023, there were 15,716 applicants on the region’s overall waitlist. About 36 per cent (5,600) of these applicants are seniors.
Ma noted that waiting an average of five to seven years would be reasonable, otherwise “you might not have much time to enjoy it," he joked.
Despite the long wait, Ma considers himself fortunate to live in Unionville Commons, which boasts indoor and outdoor amenities, common spaces, an outdoor garden, pedestrian walkways and a future seniors hub.
His only regret is that his parents died during the lengthy wait.
"Because I’m divorced and have no children, my parents were always worried about who would take care of me. It would have been a great relief for them to see the living conditions I have at Unionville Commons," Ma said.
Overall, he is quite satisfied with the accessibility and affordability.
Owned and operated by Housing York Inc., Unionville Commons offers a 70:30 split of subsidized and market-rent units.
“Anyone can apply for subsidized housing in York Region as long as they meet eligibility criteria,” explained Karen Antonio-Hadcock, general manager of Housing Services for York Region. “Applicants must have legal status in Canada, annual incomes below $80,000, and assets below $75,000. Eligibility for seniors' buildings, including Unionville Commons, is 60 years of age and older.”
Ma believes that happy living environments with exercise equipment and basic care for seniors lead to better physical health, which in turn reduces the medical burden on the government.
Like many areas across the province, York Region is facing a housing affordability crisis. Antonio-Hadcock emphasized that York Region is committed to increasing the supply of affordable rental housing through partnerships with the region’s nine municipalities, as well as with the private and non-profit sectors and senior levels of government.
"There is a growing need for community housing across all applicant household types," Antonio-Hadcock said. "About 40 per cent of waitlist applicants are families, and 24 per cent are individuals under the age of 60."
York Region is developing a community housing supply plan to set targets, including a needs assessment to determine how many community housing units should be dedicated to support all waitlist applicant household types, including seniors, she added.
Scarlett Liu is a federally funded Local Journalism Initiative reporter at Markham Economist & Sun
