Caledonia’s rental homes urgently needed

Re: “Caledonia project not affordable enough,” letter, May 21.

From young families to seniors, people have struggled to find homes in their community close to their friends, family and the services they rely on, such as schools and health care.

That is why we are working with our partners to build housing like the project at 1211 Gladstone Ave. (between Gladstone Avenue and Grant Street), which will provide 158 urgently needed rental homes for people with low-to-moderate incomes.

This mixed-income project is being delivered through the Community Housing Fund, which requires that 20 per cent of the homes will be for households with very low incomes, 50 per cent will be for households with incomes up to $64,000 and 30 per cent will be for households with incomes up to $74,000.

For this project, that will mean 32 new homes for people with very low incomes, including people on disability assistance and seniors, and 78 homes for working families, like retail workers and single parents, where tenants will not pay more than 30 per cent of their income towards rent.

We are working with our partners to build more than 720 homes in Victoria and close to 3,330 homes across the Capital Regional District, including affordable rental homes for families, individuals, and seniors, housing for Indigenous peoples, supportive homes for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, transition homes for women and children leaving violence, and rental homes for middleincome families like teachers and small business owners.

Affordable housing is the foundation of healthy and strong communities, and new homes like the ones proposed for 1211 Gladstone keep our neighbourhoods diverse, vibrant, and sustainable.

For too long, too many people have had to worry about having a good place to call home; it’s our shared responsibility to look after one another, and that is what this housing is about.

Selina Robinson Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing