Preventing Commercial Displacement in Gentrifying Neighbourhoods in Toronto through Community Ownership of Real Estate

Commercial spaces are critical components of neighbourhood vibrancy and identity. Small brick-and-mortar businesses, particularly those in racialized and economically disenfranchised neighbourhoods, are at risk of displacement due to many factors including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of e-commerce and online shopping, and increasing commercial real estate prices, rents, and property taxes. This paper considers community ownership of real estate as a tool to protect small businesses in gentrifying neighbourhoods in the City of Toronto. It does so by exploring two new community ownership models from the United States – Nico Echo Park and the Mixed Income Neighbourhood Trust. The analysis uncovers the operational, financial, and legal structures of these new models, as well as their stated goals and underlying assumptions, in order to determine if they could be appropriate and effective tools to provide more security of tenure to vulnerable businesses in the City of Toronto.