46 more accessible affordable housing units announced
A further 46 new units of affordable housing will be built in the second phase of an accessible housing project in the north end of Peterborough.
Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development Minister Maryam Monsef, the MP for Peterborough-Kawartha, made the announcement Friday morning.
Close to $14 million in loans through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has been made available to the developers of the Woodland development at 3789 Water St.
The joint project between the Kawartha Participation Project accessible housing group and developer Greenleaf Group will provide accessible housing with services and supports for people with physical disabilities to be able to live a better life, officials announced.
The project will provide suitable housing and will increase the supply of accessible units and health-care supports for people who would otherwise be housed in below-needs housing, said Katherine Blackwood, director of housing at Kawartha Participation Projects.
It’s an integrated development where people will get the supports that they need to live safely in their own homes and take part in their own community, she said.
The Woodland development will be completely wheelchair accessible as will the plaza that will be part of the development, said Greenleaf Cor-Plan president Sheldon Rokin.
“We will be building a signalized intersection with safe pedestrian crossings,” Rokin said. “We are building a walkway/ bike path from our site, all the way down to Nassau Mills Road, which will be safe and lighted.”
It is the second phase of a project started after a conversation at a housing summit about two years ago, Monsef said.
“It is receiving funds, so we can increase the supply for middle class households and those working hard to join the middle class struggling in expensive housing markets,” Monsef said.
Ottawa has now provided more than $45 million in funding for housing projects in Peterborough-Kawartha riding since 2015, she said.
“Which has helped to renovate, protect, subsidize and build more than 1,600 units,” Monsef said.
Talks with partners in the community are underway for more projects to fill housing needs, she said.
“Partners who are ready to build modular housing, partners who are ready to build,” Monsef said. “The Peterborough Housing Corporation is ready to go ahead with more than 1,100 units of housing and they can start tomorrow and have shovels in the ground this construction season.”
The city is willing to do whatever if can to support housing in the community, said Mayor Diane Therrien.
“There is a spectrum of housing and we are working on that on all fronts,” she said.