LRT bid comes with millions in affordable housing
Liberals, Metrolinx unveil request to three consortiums
The province formally kicked off the bidding to build Hamilton’s LRT with a $5.9-million promise to build or repair affordable housing along the line.
Liberal MPP Ted McMeekin made the pledge Friday at McMaster University alongside Metrolinx officials who announced the release of a longawaited request for proposals for the $1-billion light rail transit line planned along 14 kilometres of the Main-King-Queenston corridor.
Three pre-qualified consortiums will be invited to bid — including one partnered with beleaguered train producer Bombardier — with a contract award possible within 10 to 12 months. Construction is slated to start in late 2019, with trains rolling by 2024 along the line from McMaster University to Eastgate Square.
McMeekin said the province will kick in nearly $6 million for “new and refurbished” affordable housing along the LRT corridor to help “mitigate” the anticipated effects of project construction — like the purchasing or expropriation of 80 buildings — as well as expected redevelopment.
The former housing minister said he expects the cash to be used for a mix of affordable and subsidized
housing. City Housing officials have previously said a new unit of affordable housing can cost in the ballpark of $200,000.
McMeekin noted details like locations, numbers and types of units still have to be worked out with the city, but suggested the cash could conceivably be used in conjunction with other “partners,” development projects or matched with other government grants.
Tom Cooper, head of the Hamilton Round Table for Poverty Reduction, praised the announcement but added “the definition of ‘affordable’ will be critical.”
“It has to be affordable for families. We already have a rental crisis in Hamilton; we already have people being forced out of their homes by skyrocketing rents and redevelopment,” he said. “If we’re going ahead with a major billion-dollar infrastructure project, let’s make sure all residents can benefit from it. This should be the legacy piece of LRT.”
Coun. Matthew Green, whose Ward 3 area will see the most LRT-related property purchases, said housing should be a priority in a planned project community benefits agreement. He has asked for Metrolinx to commit to using surplus land acquired for LRT for “truly affordable” housing.
“We need to know, is this money a subsidy for developers, or are we talking social housing?”
Coun. Donna Skelly, who opposes the LRT project and is running for the provincial Tories in Flamborough-Glanbrook, dismissed the housing money promise as effort to “buy votes” ahead of the May election and “salvage a project that nobody really wants.”
New Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford recently resurrected controversy over the fate of LRT by suggesting if a new council switched gears and rejected the project, the associated $1 billion could be used for other infrastructure needs in Hamilton.
Skelly called that a “game-changer,” noting the provincial election is coming up in May and the city election in October.
(An LRT construction contract can’t be signed before spring 2019 at the earliest.)
McMeekin dismissed Ford’s latest proposal when questioned on it Friday, noting the new PC leader had just days before announced his support for LRT because it would “create jobs, countless jobs.”
“Now Mr. Fiscal Accountability ... will just give you a blank cheque for a billion dollars? That’s not how it works,” he said.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger also noted the LRT project is being financed and “there isn’t a billion dollars just lying around.”
He also suggested stopping the project now, which council requested and approved, would be difficult to justify now that Metrolinx has spent or committed close to $100 million, including deals to buy about 40 properties.
The Spectator recently reported that Metrolinx has already bought and emptied a 21-unit apartment building on King Street East.
Metrolinx president Phil Verster also
specifically addressed questions Friday about the participation of Bombardier.
Verster called Bombardier one partner in a larger consortium that provides more “accountability.”