https://kmclt.ca Kensington Market Community Land Trust Tue, 29 Apr 2025 17:53:46 +0000 https://kmclt.ca en https://kmclt.ca/Welcome Fri, 27 Jan 2023 22:28:16 +0000 Kensington Market Community Land Trust https://kmclt.ca/Welcome Hello Neighbour! Here’s the deal- Renters are being pushed out of their homes. Food sellers are losing their stores. Diversity and affordability, the very soul of the market, are under threat. We are a community initiative created to protect the social and economic diversity of our neighbourhood. <img width="2048" height="1366" width_o="2048" height_o="1366" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/791306642a2911c5e7b967856acdbea9174fd8448116a7d38e1029b1b208b8e5/KMCLT-PromoShoot_March2024-254.jpg" data-mid="207532107" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/791306642a2911c5e7b967856acdbea9174fd8448116a7d38e1029b1b208b8e5/KMCLT-PromoShoot_March2024-254.jpg" /> Donate to KMCLT Become a Member https://kmclt.ca/Org-Profile Tue, 07 Feb 2023 18:22:41 +0000 Kensington Market Community Land Trust https://kmclt.ca/Org-Profile Profile Kensington Market Community Land Trust is a community based nonprofit corporation. We were formed through years of neighbourhood wide planning, co-development and community-led design, and incorporated in 2017. We have hundreds of members, with more signing up everyday, over 50% of which either work or live in Kensington Market. Dozens of our members are extremely active through our board and committee structure, advising our staff and consultants on everything from membership engagement to real estate acquisition. We own and directly operate a mixed-use building with 12 residential units at a wide range of affordability. In 2022, we were announced as a recipient of the Canadian Housing and Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s National Demonstrations Project featuring land assembly and community land trust (CLT) solutions for affordable housing provision across Canada. We are also the recipient of other major grants, including the Ontario Trillium Fund Resilient Communities Grant and the Main Streets Grants with the Federal Economic Development.&nbsp; We are the founding community partners of FairBNB Canada, receiving the proceeds of their booking fees as a social enterprise alternative to other short term rental platforms in Canadian cities. We are also partners with Tapestry Community Capital, successfully receiving grant funding to explore the potential of community bonds as enablers of the CLT model. For the past five years, we have been partners with the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, and the Affordable Housing Challenge Project, receiving multiple rounds of research grants together. We are also a community partner in the New Housing Alternatives (NHA) Research Partnership. Launched in 2024, KMCLT will work with NHA members to examine the problems with Canada's current housing system and identify ways to transform this system through an exploration of housing alternatives. We are active members of the Canadian Network of CLTs, and are supporting their development of a groundbreaking CLT technical assistance program in order to scale other CLTs around Canada. The Toronto based group of CLTs own hundreds of housing units, nationally CLTs own thousands of housing units. This deeply collaborative network provides a ride range of expertise, support and stability to its member CLTs. Donate to KMCLT&nbsp; Become a member https://kmclt.ca/History-Governance Fri, 13 Jan 2023 17:51:07 +0000 Kensington Market Community Land Trust https://kmclt.ca/History-Governance Brief History Conversations about a community land trust in Kensington Market began in 2014, led by Friends of Kensington Market and supported by The Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust. These explorations culminated in the formation of a CLT Working Group that appointed an interim board. The KMCLT was launched in December 2016, and the interim board went on to incorporate the organization in 2017. In April 2018, KMCLT hosted a Community Visioning session that brought together a wide range of neighbourhood residents and business people to develop a vision and guiding principles for redeveloping the City-owned parking lot on Bellevue Avenue. In 2021, after years of neighbourhood organizing to resist the renoviction and displacement of existing residents, KMCLT acquired its first building at 54-56 Kensington Avenue. In 2024, KMCLT, in partnership with St Clare’s Multifaith Housing Society, was selected by the City of Toronto to operate a new not-for-profit housing development at 35 Bellevue Avenue (the Bellevue ‘Green P’ lot). Construction for the new housing development is now underway. In 2025, KMCLT acquired two buildings at 380 Spadina Avenue and 302 Spadina Avenue. We launched a community bond campaign and raised over $1 million to support the acquisition of 380 Spadina Avenue. A month after this acquisition, we purchased 302 Spadina Avenue, bringing our total property portfolio to 3 mixed use buildings with 40 affordable residential units and 17 commercial spaces. With three full-time staff, KMCLT continues to protect Kensington Market’s unique character and pursue new opportunities to preserve and expand affordability. Our Mission The Kensington Market Community Land Trust is incorporated to acquire and provide for the management of land, in perpetuity, in or near the area bounded by the west side of Spadina Avenue, the south side of College Street, the east side of Bathurst Street, and the north side of Dundas Street, (Toronto’s Kensington Market). It removes property from the pressure of the commercial real estate market, with the overarching goal of land use for local community benefit, including but not limited to: the provision of affordable housing maintenance of the historical built form and eclectic mixed-use nature that characterizes the neighbourhood the continued presence of different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds in the residents and businesses populating the area Click here to read our organizational bylaws. Click here for our 2019 AGM Minutes. Click here for our 2021 AGM Minutes. Click here for our 2022 AGM Minutes. Click here for our Jan 2023 AGM Minutes. Click here for our Nov 2023 AGM Minutes. Click here for our Nov 2024 AGM Minutes. Click here for our Jul 2025 Members’ Meeting Minutes. Click here for our draft Nov 2025 AGM Minutes. https://kmclt.ca/Board-Members Fri, 27 Jan 2023 21:24:06 +0000 Kensington Market Community Land Trust https://kmclt.ca/Board-Members Current Board Members Members can contact the Board Co-Chairs at info@kmclt.ca. Board Members are elected once a year by KMCLT members at our Annual General Meeting, and serve a term of two years. Su Alexanian First elected 2017, Community MemberSu Alexanian is the current chair of KMAC (Kensington Market Action Committee), and also volunteers with Friends of Kensington Market. Su works for good development that continues to anchor the neighbourhood in its roots–being inclusive–for artists, newcomers and visitors. Su works in the arts, making music, soundtracks, and films. Su raised her family in Kensington and continues to make Kensington her home.&nbsp; Alix Aylen, Co-Chair First elected 2023, Community Member Alix Aylen has been a tenant in Kensington Market for 10 years (in 3 different houses). She has worked within Toronto's nonprofit sector for 16 years focusing on community program development and management. Alix is currently working as Program Manager, Cooperative Housing Development Program at CHF Canada, and has a Masters in Community &amp; Social Planning from York University. She's hopeful that the KMCLT's work will achieve more long-term housing stability and affordability for the tenants that make the market what it is.Patricia Au First elected 2024, Community Member Patricia has been a resident of Kensington Market since 2009.&nbsp; She has deepened her roots in this community by making it the place she and her husband raise their young family.&nbsp; Patricia is an active participant in the local elementary school community as well as supporting causes important to the unique fabric of our neighbourhood. Maintaining affordability and proper living conditions is a priority for her in order to preserve the diversity of the community and allow everyone to imagine themselves here for the long term.&nbsp; In her professional life, she has spent almost 20 years working as an engineer in supply chain logistics with a personal focus with growing and supporting women in the industry. Kevin Barrett, Co-Chair First elected 2017,&nbsp;Community MemberKevin Barrett is a guitarist, producer, musical director and composer based in Toronto, Canada. He has lived and worked in the Kensington Market area for most of the past 30 years. Kevin performs as a band leader, side musician and musical director at jazz festivals, clubs and concert venues across the country and internationally while maintaining a continuous presence on the Toronto scene. Outside of music, Kevin has also been a long-time organizer in community housing and civic issues.&nbsp; Billy J. Choi-GekasFirst appointed 2025, Resident MemberBilly has made a new home in the community as they have a history of working with and from the community. Billy began offering Ayurveda-Yoga, Qigong-Taijiquan, and other holistic health services in 2007 in the market. They were also a past member St. Stephens-in-the-Fields Anglican Church and dedicated several years to the church's breakfast program for the community. Billy currently works at the University of Toronto, and is finishing up their credentials to practice&nbsp;as a licensed clinical therapist&nbsp;specializing in trauma and somatic therapy. They also have a long history working on boards &amp; committees, specializing in governance, policy &amp; procedural curation, as well as EDI &amp; anti-oppression&nbsp;coaching and training. Pouria Lotfi First elected 2023, Community MemberPouria Lotfi runs Pamenar, a much-beloved cafe, bar, local hangout and gallery in the Market. He made the Market home in 2009 after three decades of wandering the globe. He’s been active as a board member in the Kensington Market BIA and has worked with other local organisations since moving to the neighbourhood. With his experience as a business owner, he hopes to help the KMCLT expand its activities in the commercial realm as businesses face even greater pressure from speculating realtors and surging rents. Michael Petrasek, Treasurer First elected 2017, Community Member Michael Petrasek has lived and worked in Kensington Market for 25 years. Born in Toronto, he graduated with distinction from Concordia University in Montreal with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, (Specialization in Theatre Performance). After a couple of years performing, he took a position with the Playwrights Guild of Canada, where his responsibilities eventually included national and international promotion of Canadian plays and playwrights; negotiating and monitoring the collective agreement between the Playwrights Guild of Canada and the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres; representing the Guild on the board of the Canadian Copyright Institute, as well as other creator copyright coalitions; and co-supervising a script publishing and distribution service. In 2004, Michael founded Kensington Literary Representation, an agency focused on representing playwrights. He serves as treasurer on the board of the Kensington Market Community Land Trust.&nbsp;Eugene Slonimerov First elected 2024, Community Member Eugene Slonimerov is a Belarusian-Canadian urban and conflict studies educator and researcher with a background in music and the arts. Eugene cares about neglected public spaces, community-building, mapping memories and solving the housing crisis. He conducts field research, interviews and recently added map making, leading memory mapping workshops and walks around Kensington Market and North York. He has lived between Old Town, Tbilisi and Kensington Market, Toronto over the last two decades. In Tbilisi, he has lectured Urban Studies at Caucasus University and Conflict Studies at Tbilisi State University. He has previously worked as an assistant to late Canadian artist Michael Snow and had produced music and theatre even earlier. Sebastian Tansil, Secretary First elected 2025, Community MemberSebastian Tansil has been a tenant in Kensington Market since 2019 and regularly attends the church of Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields in the neighbourhood. Sebastian has several years of experience in economics and the public service though he has learned over his career that genuine policy change begins on the ground through community organizing. Sebastian is currently community engagement lead for the Green Line, a hyperlocal Toronto news outlet, and has a Masters in Economics from University of Toronto. He's hopeful that the KMCLT's work will not only help preserve affordability in the Market but also encourage a culture change where neighbours stand in deeper solidarity with the most marginalized and for one another. Click here for the Board Elections Nomination Form. Click here for a description of a Board Member’s duties. https://kmclt.ca/Staff Fri, 25 Oct 2024 18:17:33 +0000 Kensington Market Community Land Trust https://kmclt.ca/Staff KMCLT Staff <img width="2582" height="2582" width_o="2582" height_o="2582" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/afa7576c025638175bfb300fd9c9f601fc8030ddfa65cad820e0764e4abec7cc/DR.jpg" data-mid="220315517" border="0" data-scale="83" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/afa7576c025638175bfb300fd9c9f601fc8030ddfa65cad820e0764e4abec7cc/DR.jpg" />Dominique RussellCo-Director, Community Dominique (she/her) is a local writer, activist and teacher. A well-known member of the community, Dominique served as one of KCMLT's Board Co-Chairs since its incorporation in 2017. In this Board role, Dominique helped lead major wins for the community, including KMCLT's first property acquisition in 2021 and advocating for the 35 Bellevue parking lot to become affordable housing (which is now in progress!). Dominique was a Bousfield Distinguished Visitor at the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto in 2023.Email: dominique@kmclt.ca <img width="2057" height="2057" width_o="2057" height_o="2057" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3fe76ee547488b0fbb227ebfddaf0854e0106bf097cdfd3eb5601c27f1e9a187/Untitled-design-1.png" data-mid="243252209" border="0" data-scale="86" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3fe76ee547488b0fbb227ebfddaf0854e0106bf097cdfd3eb5601c27f1e9a187/Untitled-design-1.png" />Celia WandioCo-Director, Development Celia (she/her) comes to KMCLT after nearly three years working with the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts (CNCLT). While at CNCLT, Celia helped grow the CLT movement by developing resources for early-stage CLTs and providing direct support to groups across the country. Celia completed a Masters of Science in Planning at the University of Toronto, where she focused on affordable housing policy and development. Before coming to the CLT world, Celia worked for a housing co-operative in Toronto and for a social housing provider in the UK. Email: celia@kmclt.ca <img width="1000" height="1000" width_o="1000" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/54306d85cfadb24c9b4085ee54c35409d6a4276308bddf7106896656c2036cdd/AH.jpg" data-mid="220315534" border="0" data-scale="83" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/54306d85cfadb24c9b4085ee54c35409d6a4276308bddf7106896656c2036cdd/AH.jpg" />Angela HoCommunity Planner Angela (she/her) joined KMCLT in 2023 and is the familiar face behind the Kensington Community Bond campaign. Prior to moving to Toronto, Angela worked in public engagement with Campus + Community Planning at University of British Columbia and was involved in the Vancouver Chinatown community. Angela is the author of the award-winning Vancouver Chinatown Food Security Report and created the Chinatown Sound Map project. She holds a Masters of Science in Planning from the University of Toronto. Email: angela@kmclt.ca<img width="2057" height="2057" width_o="2057" height_o="2057" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cdda2264f517d65b119f33594515712a6ad3f963a0c73ff0030fc1fe34f9a1ca/Untitled-design.png" data-mid="243252199" border="0" data-scale="84" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/cdda2264f517d65b119f33594515712a6ad3f963a0c73ff0030fc1fe34f9a1ca/Untitled-design.png" /> Tony Ngyuen Cleaner &amp; Maintenance Worker Tony (he/him) has been a resident of 302 Spadina Avenue since 2021 and has a deep connection to the building and the surrounding Chinatown community. For years, he hoped for an opportunity to contribute more directly to the care and improvement of his home, and that opportunity came in 2025 when the Kensington Market Community Land Trust acquired and took over the building. Being part of this transition is especially meaningful to him, as it allows him to actively support the upkeep, safety, and long-term well-being of the building and its residents. He is proud to contribute his hands-on experience in cleaning, minor maintenance, and daily building operations, and is committed to helping strengthen and build up 302 Spadina and other KMCLT buildings as safe, well-maintained, and welcoming places to live. Email: tony@kmclt.ca https://kmclt.ca/Committees Fri, 03 Feb 2023 23:30:08 +0000 Kensington Market Community Land Trust https://kmclt.ca/Committees Committees Our staff and board are supported by highly engaged members who volunteer on our committees. Reach out at info@kmclt.ca if you are interested in starting a committee, or joining one of the following committees: Finance Advisory Committee [Recruiting!] Chair: Michael Petrasek |&nbsp;Community Investment Campaign Working Group Governance &amp; HR Committee [Invitation Only] Chair: Kevin Barrett&nbsp; Acquisitions Committee [Invitation Only] Chair: Zack Bradley | Bellevue Parking Lot Working Group Outreach &amp; Fundraising Committee [Recruiting!] Chair: Alix Aylen Building Affairs Committee [Invitation Only]Chair: Helen Davies | Tenant Advisory Meetings | Tenant Selection Access Working Group | Capital Planning Working Group Research Committee&nbsp;[Recruiting!] Chair: Eugene Slonimerov Please note that membership is required to join a committee. Sign up for a KMCLT membership here. https://kmclt.ca/Projects Tue, 29 Apr 2025 17:53:46 +0000 Kensington Market Community Land Trust https://kmclt.ca/Projects Current Projects Mapping Project A collaboration between the Kensington Market Community Land Trust (Research committee) and the interdisciplinary research team Kensington MarketSoundscape Study (KMSS), the mapping project supports the KMCLT’s initiative to collect data on land and property use within Kensington Market, and the creation of an online digital map to represent this data in accessible, interactive form. Oral History Project Through a series of recorded interviews, the Oral History Project will document the human histories of 54-56 Kensington Avenue. Our purpose is to create an open-access living archive of what makes Kensington Market special: its people. The stories we collect contribute to the larger tapestry of the Market’s history.&nbsp; A project of the Research committee volunteers and supported by the Kensington market Historical Society. https://kmclt.ca/Contact-Us Tue, 12 Sep 2023 18:59:36 +0000 Kensington Market Community Land Trust https://kmclt.ca/Contact-Us Contact Us Please reach us at the below email addresses or by using this sidebar︎︎︎For any general inquiries or inquiries related to acquisitions, contact info@kmclt.ca For questions related to our Kensington Community Bonds, contact invest@kmclt.ca https://kmclt.ca/Become-a-Member Fri, 13 Jan 2023 17:51:04 +0000 Kensington Market Community Land Trust https://kmclt.ca/Become-a-Member Become a Member Why become a member? By joining our membership, you will be able to participate in committees and in all important decisions related to the trust. We only send news to our members. This includes opportunities to join time-limited working groups related to specific issues in the neighbourhood, and notices of available units in our buildings. Our staff, committee chairs and board members may take note of your interest area, residence or place of work and make relevant connections to projects and news we receive affecting your specific area of the neighbourhood. Who can become a member? Anyone above 16! Our members include current and former residents of the neighbourhood, property owners, workers in the shops new and old, business owners upstairs and on the street level, politicians or former politicians interested in the neighbourhood, people who have done their groceries here every week, visitors who have fallen in love with the neighbourhood and people who have never lived here but want to learn about and support the community land trust model. We always attempt to make decisions by consensus, and any member can participate in discussions. However if necessary for formality sake, or if an issue cannot reach consensus, we may call a vote during our meetings. In this case only Community Members and Resident Members (see below for definitions) are eligible to cast a vote. Supporter Members have a voice but no vote.Membership Fee &amp; Renewal Memberships are issued and renewed on a bi-annual cycle. All new memberships will be active until December 31, 2028.To support our work, our suggested membership donation for the two year period is $20, although this donation is not required to become a member. You are welcome to pay what you can or contribute in other ways such as volunteering with us. KMCLT Membership DefinitionDo you live in a building owned by the KMCLT? Sign up as a Resident Member. Do you live or work in Kensington Market? Sign up as a Community Member.* Do you support our work but don’t live or work in Kensington Market? Sign up as a Supporter Member. *Are you part of the Kensington Market community but don’t live or work here? Tell us how and we’ll consider your application as a community member. Bylaw 2.02 "Membership" As per Bylaw 2.02, there are three categories of membership in the Kensington Market Community Land Trust: Resident Membership. Any person 16 years of age or over, who supports the objects and activities of the Corporation and is a permanent resident of a property owned by the Corporation, is eligible to be a Resident Member. Community Membership. Any person 16 years of age or over, who supports the objects and activities of the Corporation and lives or works within the geographic boundaries of activities of the Corporation as set by the Board of Directors from time to time, or is otherwise approved for Community Membership by the Board of Directors, is eligible to be a Community Member. The geographic boundaries for our Community Membership is the area bounded by the west side of Spadina Avenue, the south side of College Street, the east side of Bathurst Street, and the north side of Dundas Street. Supporter Membership. Any person 16 years of age or over, or a corporation, partnership or proprietorship which operates a for-profit enterprise, or a not-for-profit association, organization or corporation which operates inside of the geographic boundaries of activities of the Corporation as set by the Board of Directors from time to time, or is otherwise approved for Supporter Membership by the Board of Directors, and who or which supports the objects and activities of the Corporation, is eligible to be a Supporter Member.Become a KMCLT member https://kmclt.ca/Donate Fri, 31 Mar 2023 04:15:50 +0000 Kensington Market Community Land Trust https://kmclt.ca/Donate Donate to KMCLT If you love Kensington Market, donate. If this neighbourhood has ever given anything to you, give back. If you love our history of being a affordable place for new immigrants to find a start, help keep it that way for future generations of new immigrants to come. If you believe real estate speculation is unsustainable for the diversity of our neighbourhoods, donate. We are constantly trying to buy out our landlords. Not every attempt works out, but each attempt costs money. Money to hire lawyers, consultants, architects, engineers to tell us whether the latest rooming house, shopfront or historical building can be taken under community ownership. We have a great team, all who understand our eccentric neighbourhood and the community land trust model. They are generous with their time, yet your donation will allow us to keep on trying. Make a major contribution and reach out to us to directly donate real estate property, sell a property at a discounted price, or include land donations in your will. Click here to send us an email! Our staff, students, interns, consultants, and volunteers pull all-nighters writing grant applications. Our board members are all a bunch of neighbours taking time our of their evenings, weekends, away from family time, away from time lining up for the food bank, away from potential gigs, sometimes bringing our dependants with us to community meetings. If you can’t join our committee work yourself, buying us a coffee is much appreciated. Donate today