Hamilton organizations to turn $23.3M in funding into 109 affordable units
Good Shepherd plans to turn an apartment building into 73 affordable housing units before the year is out as Hamilton looks for ways to turn the tide of homelessness.
Renovations at the five-storey Arkledun Avenue building will transform it into homes for women, transgender, nonbinary and two-spirit residents.
The social-service agency hopes the $21-million project will not only ease pressure on overburdened shelters, but also help people stay housed for the long run.
We need to look toward more lasting solutions for the folks that we're serving, and so this is an opportunity to do that," chief operating officer Katherine Kalinowski said.
The Good Shepherd project is one of three local initiatives to land a total of $23.3 million in federal rapid-housing funding allocations.
Federal and municipal officials who announced the projects Tuesday noted they would lead to an estimated 109 affordable local units between them.
Good Shepherd's share of the rapid-housing dollars for 35 Arkledun Ave., a former student residence, is $12.9 million.
CityHousing's $6.4-million allocation goes toward a three-storey, 24-unit building to be constructed using prefabricated modular components at a municipal parking lot at 253 King William St.
Of those units, 14 are to be deeply affordable" and reserved for priority tenants, including women experiencing violence or homelessness. The other 10 will be affordable market units," the city said.
Coun. Jason Farr, who's president of CityHousing, credited council efforts to make downtown parking lots available for better and higher uses."
St. Matthew's House plans to use its $3.8 million on 12 units for low-income seniors who are women, Indigenous or racialized, or have disabilities, at 412 Barton St. E., which is next door to its child-care centre.
The federal $2.5-billion rapid-housing initiative delivers funding for affordable-housing projects that must be completed within 12 months.
Over the last 18 months, Hamilton has received and leveraged" about $34.45 million in rapid-housing dollars to help create 155 units, Mayor Fred Eisenberger said Tuesday.
And for those who think that's just not enough, well it is a pretty tall order to be able to provide that within a rapid period of time," Eisenberger said. So 155 units is not nothing."
The funding, which falls under the federal government's National Housing Strategy, reaches Hamilton during an era of spiking home prices and rental rates that have priced many out of the local market.
The rapid projects also overlap with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has deepened the city's homelessness crisis.
Planning for all three projects is well underway and pretty close" to receiving permits to start construction, Edward John, the city's housing director, said Tuesday.
St. Matthew's initiative at 412 Barton St. E. - also a modular project - will take the place of a building that housed the agency's food bank.
The 4Twelve" will provide safe housing with support services and tackle urban sprawl through added residential density on the site, executive director Renee Wetselaar said.
We need to be creative in what we're building and where we're building it."
Good Shepherd's project has also secured $3.35 million under another funding envelope that's focused on homelessness.
The agency purchased the building on Arkledun - which turns into the escarpment-climbing Jolley Cut - from Columbia International College for about $14 million.
The city is making a fairly significant contribution" to fill in the funding gap of a project, said Alan Whittle, who's working as a consultant for Good Shepherd.
The bulk of the work in the 1960s-era building that served as a student residence involves plumbing, adding kitchens and replacing elevators, Whittle said.
Columbia International College officials didn't respond to requests for comment Tuesday about the sale of the school's former residence.
Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com
Rapid housing's first go-round
In the fall of 2020, the federal government announced $10.8 million in rapid-housing funding for local projects. The pandemic has caused delays, but the units are expected to be occupied by the end of May or sooner.
137 George St. - Options for Independent Living and Development is building permanent housing with support services for 15 women at risk of homelessness in two- and three-bedroom units in a low-rise, modular building.
219 East Ave. N. - As part of a wider project, Indwell Community Homes and Sacajawea Non-Profit Housing are teaming up to turn an old carriage house at a former dairy site into 13 bachelor units for Indigenous women experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
195 Ferguson Ave. N. - Wesley Community Homes has converted office space in its apartment complex into 11 one-bedroom units for people who were homeless and a two-bedroom superintendent unit. They were occupied in December.
350 King St. E. - CityHousing Hamilton is converting vacant ground-floor commercial space at First Place into 15 additional one-bedroom units for older adults.
Source: The City of Hamilton