Regent Park is a downtown east Toronto neighbourhood of about 28 hectares (69 acres), bounded by Parliament Street, Gerrard Street East, River Street, and Queen Street East. Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) calls it Canada’s first social housing complex, built in the 1940s and 1950s on land cleared of older housing. A phased rebuilding into a mixed-income neighbourhood began in the mid-2000s, and its last two phases were approved for rezoning by Toronto City Council in July 2023.
Why the area was cleared
In 1934 a committee chaired by Lieutenant Governor Herbert Bruce reported on slum conditions in Toronto. The Bruce Report proposed clearing several blocks east of downtown, described as having structurally unsound buildings, poor sanitation, and overcrowding, and replacing them with low-cost housing. According to the City of Toronto Archives, the site was revisited three times: in the Bruce Report, in the City’s 1943 master plan by the architects Mathers and Haldenby, and finally in the plan by the architect J.E. Hoare, which was approved in 1947.
The City’s Official Plan says that before 1948 the area had a reputation for some of the worst housing conditions in Toronto, and that the project belonged to the mid-20th century urban renewal movement in North America, in which historic housing and street patterns were cleared and rebuilt as social housing. The neighbouring Victorian district is covered in the Cabbagetown article.
Building Regent Park
The Hoare plan called for row houses, three-storey walk-ups, and six-storey apartment buildings, set among open green space. Sources date the start slightly differently. The City’s housing exhibit says Regent Park “was built in 1947”, the Official Plan refers to conditions “before 1948”, and TCHC places the construction in the 1940s and 1950s. The plan was approved in 1947, so the safest reading is that planning and approval fell in 1947 and construction followed from 1948 onward. The City exhibit adds that Moss Park and Alexandra Park followed in the 1960s, and that by the 1970s there was growing concern about concentrating low-income families in large projects and about the wholesale demolition of downtown neighbourhoods.
Why change came
The Official Plan describes the original project as initially successful: it gave many low-income residents new, good-quality housing, and the neighbourhood developed cultural diversity and a strong sense of community. It also states that the housing stock deteriorated, that buildings related poorly to the open spaces around them, that many residents felt the design allowed criminal activity and weakened public safety, and that the area became physically and socially isolated from the rest of Toronto.
TCHC gives the drivers of change as tenant advocacy, an aging building stock, a lack of government funding for capital repairs, and urban design that isolated the community. Its timeline begins in 1995, when tenants approached the housing company about revitalization.
Timeline of the revitalization
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Tenants approach Toronto Community Housing about revitalization |
| 2003 | City Council approves the revitalization of Regent Park |
| 2006 | The Daniels Corporation selected as development partner for Phase 1 |
| 2007 | City Council passes the Social Development Plan, developed with residents |
| 2009 | Phase 2 construction begins |
| 2012 | Phase 1 completed |
| 2014 | Phase 3 construction begins |
| 2018 | Phase 2 completed |
| 2020 | Tridel selected as developer partner for Phases 4 and 5 |
| July 2023 | City Council approves rezoning for Phases 4 and 5 |
| 2024 | Last TCHC building in Phase 3 completed |
All entries come from Toronto Community Housing’s project timeline and its Regent Park development page.
What the plan provides
The Official Plan records about 7,500 residents living in 2,083 rent-geared-to-income (RGI) social housing units before redevelopment. It allows up to 7,500 social and market housing units in total, with a projected population of about 17,000 once all phases are done. TCHC’s commitment is to replace all 2,083 RGI units and to add affordable rental and market condominium units. The new neighbourhood includes the Daniels Spectrum arts and cultural centre, the Regent Park Aquatic Centre, a new park, and the Regent Park Athletic Grounds.
TCHC’s published figures changed over time. A December 2020 backgrounder spoke of a five-phase, 25-year project and 399 new affordable rental units alongside 5,500 market condominium units. A later development page lists 637 affordable units, 633 RGI replacement units, and 1,976 additional market units for Phases 4 and 5, and states that Phases 1 to 3 would yield 1,818 RGI units and 464 net new affordable units. The project start is given as 2005 on one TCHC page and as 2006 for the first developer selection on another, and the expected length appears as 15 to 20 years in 2019, 25 years in 2020, and 19 years for Phases 1 to 3 on the later page. These are planning figures and TCHC’s pages are the place to check the current ones.
Related housing stories
Toronto’s other large postwar housing district, the tower neighbourhood described in the St. James Town article, was privately developed. For the economic background of housing in the city, see the article on the city’s economy and housing.
Frequently asked questions
Was Regent Park the first public housing in Canada?
TCHC calls it Canada’s first social housing complex. The City’s Official Plan words it more carefully, as one of the largest and oldest public housing developments in Canada. Both statements are official.
When did the redevelopment of Regent Park begin?
TCHC lists 2005 as the project start for Phase 1 and 2006 as the year Daniels was chosen as developer. City Council approved the revitalization in 2003.
How many social housing units were there originally?
The Official Plan and TCHC both give 2,083 rent-geared-to-income units, which TCHC has committed to replace.
Who is building the final phases?
TCHC selected Tridel Builders Inc. in 2020 as developer partner for Phases 4 and 5. Rezoning was approved in July 2023.
Sources
- City of Toronto, Official Plan, Chapter 6, Section 28: Regent Park Secondary Plan
- City of Toronto Archives, web exhibits “No Little Plans” and “Your Home Our City”
- Toronto Community Housing: Backgrounder, Regent Park revitalization (December 15, 2020)
- Toronto Community Housing: Regent Park development information
Related reading
- Cabbagetown: history of the Victorian neighbourhood
- St. James Town: history of the neighbourhood
- The Distillery District: Gooderham and Worts
- Toronto’s economy: industries, port and housing
- Toronto neighbourhoods: how the districts grew
Last verified: October 2026
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Regent Park: Social Housing, Decline, and Rebuilding. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/regent-park-history
MLA: “Regent Park: Social Housing, Decline, and Rebuilding.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/regent-park-history. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Regent Park: Social Housing, Decline, and Rebuilding.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/regent-park-history.
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