The group hopes to stop the gentrification of Kensington Market by issuing $500 bonds to the community.

Kensington Market Community Land Trust (KMCLT) is calling on residents interested in owning property in the popular Toronto neighborhood to stop gentrification.

KMCLT bought the 150-year-old building at 54-56 Kensington Avenue. Instead of turning it into condominiums, the land trust kept all twelve residences and gave stability to small businesses with leases, according to the release.

Statistics Canada's Census Profile found that median residential rents in the Kensington market increased by 99.8% between 2006 and 2021.

Tenants will pay about $1,142 for a bachelor apartment and $1,594 for a two-bedroom apartment at 54-56 Kensington Avenue, which is 80% below the current market average rent, co-chair Dominic Russell told Now Toronto.

Some tenants who have been there for forty years have not seen their rents rise that much.

These rents are according to City of Toronto data.

KMCLT aims to acquire and occupy another property with residential and commercial space priced between $2 million and $4 million by the fall of this year.

The City of Toronto loaned them $476,000 for the new purchase.

They expect $2 million of the funds to come from their new initiative, the Kensington Community Bonds.

Community members, institutions and individuals can purchase a bond to support a specific project the organization needs funding for, Jennifer Bryan, senior campaign manager for Gobestry Community Capital, said in the video.

It will take the land off the commercial real estate market and use it the way the community wants to use it, said Zach Bradley, development manager for the Kensington Market Community Land Trust.

“The main challenges right now are affordability for both residents and businesses,” Bradley said in the video.

There are more than 450 people on the public bond waiting list as of the announcement date.

There are three types of public bond:

People can invest as little as $500 and earn 2.5 percent interest over three years.

People can invest as little as $5,000 and earn 3.5 percent over five years.

People can invest as little as $25,000 and earn 4.5 percent over seven years.

Proceeds will be used to repay the interest, Bradley said.

“The building they buy may be a rental, and the members of the estate will be the first to know about the vacancy,” Russell said.

The bonds are managed by Tapestry Community Capital, a community investment company.

Interested Torontonians can invest on the KMCLT website.