Province Issues Proposal Call for More Affordable Housing
Trucks could be rolling into four Nova Scotia communities as early as this fall to break ground on affordable housing for seniors and people with disabilities.
Community Services Minister Denise Peterson-Rafuse and Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, announced today, Aug. 7, that almost 50 units of affordable rental housing will be built over the next year in Sydney, Port Hawkesbury, Middleton and Amherst.
The funding was made available through a $128-million joint investment under the amended Canada-Nova Scotia Affordable Housing Program Agreement, which includes equal funding through Canada's Economic Action Plan and by the government of Nova Scotia and through an extension to the Canada-Nova Scotia Housing Renovation Program Agreement.
"Making life better for Nova Scotians by increasing access to safe, affordable housing is one of the government's top priorities," said Ms. Peterson-Rafuse. "This new housing will allow more seniors and people with disabilities to remain independent."
"The government of Canada is committed to making affordable housing available in Nova Scotia and today's announcement is good news for our province," said Mr. MacKay. "This investment creates much-needed jobs, strengthens the economy and improves the quality of life for Nova Scotians."
Provincewide requests for proposals were issued this week, inviting contractors to submit proposals for the construction of the new units for seniors and people with disabilities. Tenders will continue to be issued over the next several months.
Twenty-six independent-living seniors' units will be built in Sydney; Port Hawkesbury will get a barrier-free duplex; 15 seniors' units, three of which will be barrier-free, will be built in Middleton; and Amherst will get a seniors' fourplex.
The new units are part of the amended agreement announced in April, which will deliver $128 million for construction and renovation of affordable housing throughout the province over the next two years. These four projects are the first round of new housing to be built in the first year. The second year will bring construction of more units.
"Nova Scotians in all regions of the province will see new and improved affordable housing," said Ms. Petersen-Rafuse. "The projects will also create construction jobs."
About $20 million will be spent on the creation, renovation and upgrade of more than 2,600 social-housing units in Cape Breton, while Northern Nova Scotia will see about $10 million used for the same purpose for about 1,300 social housing units. Central Nova Scotia will get about $50 million for the creation, renovation and upgrade of about 3,700 units and about $16 million will be invested in more than 1,800 social housing units in the Western region.
In total, about 180 housing units for seniors and people with disabilities in Nova Scotia will be created and renovations and energy upgrades will be made to more than 9,200 individual social housing units.
The remaining $32 million will provide continued funding for provincial repair programs and affordable housing through partnerships with private developers and non-profits.
More than 1,200 affordable housing units in Nova Scotia have already been created or preserved under the Canada-Nova Scotia Affordable Housing Program.
Last fall, the government of Canada committed more than $1.9 billion over the next five years to improve and build new affordable housing and to help the homeless. Canada's Economic Action Plan builds on this with an additional one-time investment of more than $2 billion over two years in new and existing social housing and lending of up to another $2 billion to municipalities for housing-related infrastructure.