Toronto’s housing shortage has become one of the most significant economic and social issues facing the city. Population growth continues to outpace housing supply, vacancy rates remain low, and the development industry faces a combination of elevated construction costs, financing challenges, and lengthy approval processes. Despite these obstacles, new housing continues to be delivered by developers willing to work within today’s realities rather than waiting for ideal market conditions.
Alain Cogan, Principal and President of Oikoi Living, believes increasing housing supply requires a practical approach that combines neighbourhood-scale rental housing with larger residential developments. Through projects currently under construction in Leaside, the Junction Triangle, and Cabbagetown, as well as larger developments advancing through Toronto’s planning system, Oikoi Living is focused on creating housing in communities where people already live, work, raise families, and have access to transit.
Q: Many developers have slowed activity because of interest rates and construction costs. Why has Oikoi Living continued moving projects forward?
Alain Cogan: Toronto’s housing shortage doesn’t pause to wait for better market
conditions — and neither do we. The city continues to add residents each year, and they need places to live. Interest rates, construction costs, and entitlement timelines are what they are. The developers who will make a difference are the ones who can structure projects that work within those realities and continue bringing housing to market. We put that philosophy into practice earlier this year, closing $10.62 million in construction financing with Vancity Community Investment Bank across three rental developments simultaneously. Those projects are being structured for CMHC MLI Select takeout financing with a 50-year amortization and 85 percent loan-to-value ratio. In plain terms, that combination lowers the long-term cost of carrying a building, which is often the difference between a rental project getting built and one that stays on paper.
In today’s environment, programs like MLI Select play an important role in making purpose-built rental housing financially viable and helping developers add much-needed rental supply to the market.
Q: You’ve spent considerable time developing gentle-density rental housing. What makes that housing form important to Toronto?
Alain Cogan: Toronto has many neighbourhoods where the existing housing stock was built for a different era. We now have more people competing for a limited number of homes, particularly in areas with strong schools, transit access, parks, and established community infrastructure. Gentle density creates opportunities to add housing within those neighbourhoods without requiring major changes to their character. Our Bayview project replaces a single-family house with six family-sized rental homes in Leaside. Our Junction project replaces a single-family property with five family-sized rental homes in the Junction Triangle. In Cabbagetown, we are restoring a heritage fourplex while adding a family-sized laneway home. Each one adds homes where the streets, schools, transit, and parks are already in place.
Q: Why have you focused your company on rental housing rather than condominium development?
Alain Cogan: Toronto needs substantially more rental housing than it has today. For many years, population growth outpaced the creation of purpose-built rental supply. The result is something everyone can see for themselves: low vacancy rates, limited housing options, and increasing pressure on affordability. I view rental housing as a long-term asset class rather than a short-term transaction. When we develop rental housing, we are creating homes intended to serve residents for decades. That changes how we think about design, neighbourhood integration, construction quality, and operational performance. The objective is to create housing that remains valuable to both residents and communities well into the future.
Q: Oikoi Living often speaks about neighbourhoods and community. How does that influence your development decisions?
Alain Cogan: We spend a great deal of time evaluating what exists around a site before we ever think about a building. Access to transit, schools, parks, employment areas, healthcare services, and local businesses matters because it affects how people experience daily life. Housing works best when it is connected to the community around it. Our Cabbagetown project sits
in one of the most walkable neighbourhoods in the city, where residents are steps from
parks, transit, and the local main streets they use every day. We are interested in locations where residents can fully participate in community life without relying on lengthy commutes for everyday needs.
Q: What role do you hope Oikoi Living will play in Toronto’s future growth?
Alain Cogan: Our company currently has projects under construction and larger developments moving through approvals, collectively representing a significant number of future homes. We are advancing the 180-unit Tyndall Assembly project in Parkdale, the 879-unit High Park development in partnership with Elysium, and the 648-unit Isabella Sherbourne tower, also with Elysium. Those projects represent the next phase of our growth as a residential developer. At the same time, I believe smaller neighbourhood-scale projects remain equally important. Toronto’s housing shortage will not be solved by a single building type or a single development strategy. Cities need high-rise, mid-rise, multiplex, laneway, and family-sized rental homes. My focus is on continuing to build housing across that spectrum and contributing to a larger housing supply that benefits future generations of Torontonians.
