In 1977, a group of Brampton citizens — including a minister, teachers, a transit employee, and a tool-and-die maker — formed a housing committee to address the growing shortage of affordable homes in the area.

Working with resource group HOMESTARTS, they identified a site on Dennison Avenue and spent years gaining City Council approval against local opposition.

After an Ontario Municipal Board hearing in July 1981, all objections were withdrawn and the cooperative officially won approval. Incorporation followed, the Dutch name was chosen, and By-de-Molen was built.Our first move-in day was June 1, 1982. By August 15, 1982, all 98 families had moved in. The cooperative has been thriving ever since — self-governed, self-managed, and deeply community-rooted for over 40 years.

The Cooperative Difference Unlike rental housing or privately-owned condominiums, By-de-Molen is owned collectively by its members. We are a not-for-profit corporation: any surplus goes back into operating the cooperative, not to investors. Every adult member has one vote. Decisions are made democratically by the people who live here.