30-unit rental apartment planned for Fenelon Falls

FENELON FALLS — A 30-unit apartment building planned for Fenelon Falls would helpmeet the demand for rental housing in the community, a new housing committee report states.

City of Kawartha Lakes council is being asked to consider the development on land already owned by Kawartha Lakes Haliburton Housing, at 106 Murray St. in the village. If approved, it would be ready for occupancy by May 2021. The 30-unit apartment building would consist of one-, two- and three-bedroom units within a mixed income model (affordable, market and above market) for seniors, singles, couples and families, according to the report. There are currently 1,142 subsidized housing units in Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton but the majority are in Lindsay. There are just 181 units in the rest of municipality. Information from the city’s housing help division shows that as of the end of last year, there were 1,672 households waiting for one of those units. In 2018 only 98 of the 1,142 units vacated.

In Fenelon Falls there are 115 subsidized units and 294 on the centralized waiting list awaiting one of those units.

The development will be financially supported primarily through a KLH Housing Corp reserve contribution and a debenture.

An application will be made to the National Housing Strategy’s Co-Investment Fund for a $1.2million contribution. The project has already received CMHC seed funding in the amount of $60,000 to assist with environmental assessments, drawings and specifications.