THUNDER BAY – With federal and provincial housing targets ahead, the city is now looking at the work needed to build more homes in Thunder Bay.
At Monday's meeting, staff presented council with some next steps on the heels of the city being approved for $20.7M in Housing Accelerator Funding (HAF) funding from Canada Mortgage and Housing with a housing supply growth target of 1,691 permitted housing units by February 2027.
The funds will be distributed to the city in three annual advances of just over $5.2 million beginning this year -- with the fourth advance conditional on the city achieving the target.
Council was also instructed to approve land disposal and delegate purchasing authority for work related to housing accelerator projects.
The city has established a website as part of marketing and engagement for the HAF with work ongoing to fill the vacancies within the mayor’s task force on building more homes.
“In addition to the work that has already been done to build more homes, there are eight initiatives that were included in the housing accelerator application,” Joel DePeuter, director of development services, told council on March 11.
“These efforts are beyond the work and the scope of the city. This will be a community-wide collaborative effort that will require a lot of participation and commitment from the construction industry as well.
“It will be a challenge and it’s one that our broader team is committed to and will be working hard to help achieve.”
Mayor Ken Boshcoff and a few other councillors raised concerns about staffing levels, a concern that DePeuter agreed with.
“The staff capacity is stretched at the moment, and there's a significant amount of work in front of us through this report," DePeuter said.
City manager Norm Gale stressed to council that staff is united and committed to getting the necessary work done.
After the meeting, at-large Coun. Rajni Agarwal said: “I would have loved this information yesterday rather than tomorrow, but I know that city staff is working on housing and there is a lot to navigate,”
“We were given the funds by Ottawa to go out and motivate the general public and the private sector to build. They are the ones who are to build the housing.
“The goal here is to create housing. We need housing and we need everyone to do their bit.”
Council also has a goal of 2,200 new housing units built by 2031, which was part of their application to receive funds from Queen’s Park for the three-year, $1.2-billion Building Faster Fund.
The ask from staff also meant delaying any decisions on the sale of Hillcourt Estates and a postponement on a response to the unsheltered homelessness population until April 2024.
