The city’s executive committee has approved the sale of 55 Toronto Community Housing Corp. (TCHC) homes to pay for building repairs to other units.

The committee, led by Mayor Rob Ford, unanimously approved the proposal on Tuesday.

The sale is expected to bring in $35.5 million. The TCHC is facing a $751-million backlog in repairs.

The city was initially considering selling 675 single-family homes. In March, city council approved the sale of 56 vacant TCHC homes, bringing the number down to 619.

Of those 619 homes, the executive committee voted to sell an additional 55.

In Tuesday’s meeting, the executive committee also voted to allow up to 100 TCHC residents to purchase their homes.

The TCHC must also reduce its operating and administrative costs, and look into finding other efficiencies, the committee said.

The sales of the 111 homes, plus the plan to allow residents to purchase their homes, is expected to generate $120 million.

The committee was considering a special housing report from Coun. Ana Bailao.

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-50147.pdf