Kehilla Montreal, a Communal Response to Affordable Housing in Montreal, Launches its First Project

We are proud to announce that Kehilla Montreal Residential Programs, a registered charity created as a communal response to pressing housing needs in Montreal, officially broke ground on its first residential project today. Working in collaboration with various partners and funders, the mission of Kehilla Montreal is to provide members of the Jewish and broader Montreal community with quality, safe and affordable housing – ultimately improving quality of life and helping to break the cycle of poverty.

Issues of poverty and housing simply cannot be separated. One in five Montrealers lives below the poverty line, and housing is the single greatest expense in the family budget. The result is that too many people in need are foregoing other essential needs like food, clothing and transportation because they are spending disproportionately on housing. Add to that the fact that over 25,000 households are on the waiting list for low-cost, safe and well-maintained housing in Montreal.

For this reason, the Jewish community has been investing in low-cost housing since the 1960s and continues to be a priority. As part of a communal response to the ongoing challenge of affordable housing, Kehilla Montreal was incubated five years ago at Federation CJA to seek out new, innovative approaches to the current situation.

In order to underscore its commitment and ensure the success of this start-up initiative, Federation CJA has, to date,  provided significant financial and human resources as well as necessary support in securing a $1 million capital gift for this first project.

Plans for a 68-unit mixed-income residential project, Le Groupe Kehilla Montréal I, were unveiled at the official groundbreaking ceremony today, which was attended by a wide-range of stakeholders. The representatives from various levels of government included David Birnbaum, MNA for D’Arcy McGee, Mitchell Brownstein, Mayor of Côte Saint-Luc, Marc-André Plante of the Montreal Metropolitan Community’s Social Housing Commission, as well as the Kehilla Montreal board of directors, and leadership from Federation CJA and the Jewish Community Foundation of Montreal.

Slated for completion by the fall of 2019, the new building, adjacent to Caldwell Residences in Cote St. Luc, will offer 34 rent-subsidized units with tenants paying only 25% of their monthly income on rent. The remaining 34 units will be rented to individuals, couples and small families at slightly below market rate. The contemporary building is central to schools, public transportation and a myriad of services, and has been designed to the highest standards of energy efficiency in concordance with Quebec’s Novo-Climat program.

This  project   is being funded  through the Quebec government’s AccèsLogis program in conjunction with the City of Montreal and the Société d’habitation du Québec, and  a generous donation by Saryl and Stephen Gross and family, for whom the building will be named. Additional partners include the City of Côte Saint-Luc, Federation CJA, Jewish Community Foundation of Montreal, Groupe CDH, Agence Ometz, and the Cummings Centre.

Kehilla, which means community in Hebrew, is an exceptional example of community at its best – by the community for the community – with the potential to create profound transformational impact.

For more information, visit kehillamontreal.org.

David Amiel
President, Federation CJA

Jonathan Sigler
President, Kehilla Montréal Residential Programs