Back in January, Toboggan Flats launched a project with a big question at its heart: Could Canada’s empty offices become affordable coliving homes for the community housing sector? With support from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), we set out to explore what we’ve long believed—that converting underused office buildings can createhousing that is faster, […]
We could tell you about Toboggan Flats and co-living, or we could let the CBC do it for us. It’s 10 minutes well worth your time. Listen for two young, hopeful residents of Toboggan Flats who are helping us shape the model. They share what they like about co-living and Toboggan Flats. Huge thanks to
Our founder Robert Barnard sat down with CBC’s Mary Wiens in her last week to discuss the benefits of co-living. The pair discussed how co-living solves some of the challenges of office to housing conversions—namely, the expense of updating plumbing for each unit to have its own kitchen and bathroom. Not a problem with co-living.
Picture this: You live downtown, sharing a vibrant, engaged community with young people close to your age. You don’t mind showing up to the office four-to-five days a week—it’s easy when you only have to walk 15 minutes from home. You finish at the office and head back to your Toboggan Flats apartment for the
Alright, the subject line of this newsletter might sound a little ambitious—but it’s not that far from the truth. For the last several weeks, we’ve been talking about the benefits of co-living for cities, building owners, and of course, residents: On top of all that, co-living is great for the planet. Co-living in repurposed office
On July 18, 2013 Detroit went bankrupt. A hollowed-out downtown was the cause. If you’ve taken a stroll in the downtowns of Canada’s largest cities recently, they may seem quieter than usual, lacking energy and hustle. That’s because our cities have not rebounded from COVID. We need more people living and working downtown… and fast.
Toboggan Flats was highlighted in the Washington Post on May 14: “Another promising idea emerging from Canada is converting office space into “toboggan flats” — co-living spaces aimed at young people. It’s easier and cheaper than converting buildings into condos because it doesn’t require a kitchen in every unit: Similar to a college dorm, there are communal
By now it should be well-understood Canada has a housing crisis. Cost, inventory, housing form, location; all sectors and factors in Canada’s housing calculus are being called into question and under pressure. And as with any good crisis, decision-makers and elected officials have been rolling out policy announcements and solutions in response—for seniors, low income
