Habitat for Humanity Hamilton aims to help set working families on a path to home ownership through its biggest initiative to date.
A 10-unit townhouse project planned for Dawson Avenue just outside downtown Stoney Creek is based on a new “lease-with-equity” model.
This means the Habitat tenants, or “home partners,” will pay “fair market” rent to live in the future two-bedroom apartments.
Habitat will set aside about a third of that rent for up to 10 years with the goal of saving a nest egg they can use to buy homes.
“People can pay a reasonable rent and generate tens of thousands of dollars of savings over the course of a few years toward their own down payment,” CEO Sean Ferris said during a groundbreaking event for the $4.5-million project Wednesday.
Habitat plans to demolish a former Masonic Lodge building on the site near King Street East and Gray Road that had been zoned for townhomes before the non-profit picked it up.
In its place, Habitat will build five energy-efficient townhomes on the corner lot across from a retirement residence and nestled between single-detached homes.
The three-storey towns with basements will each have two apartments and are expected to be ready for tenants in two years.
Habitat Hamilton, which focuses on affordable ownership, found inspiration for the “lease-with-equity” model through its Edmonton counterpart’s work, Ferris said.
Moreover, with the site zoned for five “gigantic” townhouses, Habitat decided to take advantage of the city’s permissive policies for second dwelling units to add more apartments on the lot.
But the non-profit didn’t want the future home partners to be landlords, Ferris told The Spectator.
“We get to retain the asset and act as landlord to serve multiple families with the same units.”
Prospective tenants for 19 Dawson Ave. must be families who have lived or worked in Hamilton for at least the last two consecutive years.
Their household income must be between $77,000 and $155,000, a range that springs from a city study that deals with housing affordability, Ferris noted.
Eligible residents must have a decent credit score and low debt. They haven’t owned a home but want to and are challenged to make the leap.
The project breaks ground during an era of declining home prices, but only after years of escalation that put ownership out of reach for many.
A new single-detached home in Hamilton went for an average price of $761,981 in March, compared to $474,856 in 2019, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) data.
The rental market has softened recently, but likewise, rates have increased for years, CMHC’s information shows.
The average for a two-bedroom in Hamilton in October 2025 was $1,528, up from $1,130 in 2019.
Like Habitat, other non-profits have similarly focused efforts on working people struggling to afford homes, a so-called “missing-middle” gap.
Gather Housing Communities, a new branch of affordable housing operator Indwell, plans to build hundreds of affordable apartments in the coming years for priced-out workers, starting with a 164-unit rental building in east Hamilton.
City officials at Wednesday’s groundbreaking event described the Habitat project as easing affordability in concert with an array of initiatives across the housing spectrum.
Helping people buy safe, affordable homes matters for families but also for “our city’s future,” Mayor Andrea Horwath said.
“Because when families can afford to live here, they can work here, they can build their lives here, they can achieve their dreams here.”
The city has contributed $575,000 to the project. Ferris says Habitat awaits the outcome of its application for federal funding.
For more information about the 19 Dawson application process, visit habitathamilton.ca/apply.
Habitat for Humanity Hamilton