THUNDER BAY — The city unveiled a banner at city hall on Wednesday to start promoting applications for housing grants.
Applications for grants are being accepted after the city was approved in February for over $20 million from Ottawa for the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to build over 600 new units over the course of three years.
Mayor Ken Boshcoff said he's happy to see the uptick in applications. He also wants residents to know applications are open for anyone, not just builders.
"We will be servicing housing for all types of accommodations that are required so that we'll address the people who absolutely need housing and make a lot available for those who are looking to build their own or want to move into a new apartment or an accessible apartment."
Summer Stevenson, project manager for the city's Housing Accelerator Fund, said the city will have eight initiatives in total. Two are currently open and have received applications, while another three are expected to open once council approves them.
"We have received interest in the affordable rental housing funding program, and we have started to receive applications for the strategic core areas," she said.
Stevenson said the next round of grants opening up is going to be for residents looking to make rental space in their homes.
"This is a grant almost exclusively for homeowners looking to add an additional unit in their home. Whether that be a basement apartment or a backyard home, this will be an excellent program for people to look into when it is available.
"We're encouraging you to get your projects ready now — to reach out to the planning department to figure out what your maximum density is for your lot. This means the number of homes that your lot can support and then from there, we can talk chat about different options for increasing density and for hitting those targets."
Harold Lindstrom, manager of the Construction Association of Thunder Bay, also has a seat at the mayor's housing taskforce table and hopes the city can collaborate more with industry in the future.
"The city has gone through a lot of work to develop these grants and we have not been involved in that. So to come to us and say, 'well, here's the grants, and this is what we're going to put in place,' and then expect us to be all excited or whatever - that's pretty hard.
"We would like to work with the city and, in particular, the building department, the real estate department to be able to get the things that we need."
He also noted that while funding is crucial to these projects, finding viable property, getting appropriate permits and approvals, and taking other time-consuming steps are also crucial in working together with the city on these projects.
Lindstrom's biggest concern was the lack of communication from the city to the construction industry, and he was hopeful that Wednesday's task force meeting would encourage more open communication between the two.
Katie Nicholls is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with Newswatch
