Big Lake Pointe is set to launch this week thanks to a $6.8 million grant from the province, and that has affordable housing advocates grinning ear to ear.
Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonczy announced in Calgary Friday morning that the federal and provincial governments would put $121 million towards affordable housing projects in Alberta over the next three years.
This would start with $40.6 million this year, about $6.8 million of which would go towards Big Lake Pointe, an affordable housing project in St. Albert managed by the St. Albert Housing Society. The rest would go to eight other projects in Alberta.
"Our Government believes that all Canadians need a stable, safe and affordable place to call home," Ablonczy said in a media release, and this year's grants would create some 408 affordable units in Alberta. "We are committed to helping deliver affordable housing solutions in partnership with the provinces and territories, along with opportunities for economic growth."
Doris Vandersteen, executive director of the St. Albert Housing Society, said she was "absolutely thrilled" when she heard the news. (She had coincidentally spoken to council about Big Lake Pointe during budget talks Thursday night.) "With this support, we'll be able to bring 78 affordable homes to St. Albert."
This announcement was wonderful news, added Suzan Krecsy, executive director of the St. Albert Food Bank & Community Village.
"Most of our clients really struggle with rent," she said, and 31 have no homes at all. "It will certainly help out some of our families."
Housing gap
Big Lake Pointe is a rental apartment complex proposed for construction in St. Albert. If approved, it would add two four-storey buildings to a 1.3-hectare plot in North Ridge that would contain 118 rental apartments and 78 of those would have below-market (affordable) rental rates.
City council spent about $2.3 million in grants in 2010 to buy the land for the project, which is located on Giroux Road near Fire Hall No. 3.
The housing society has applied without success for this funding each year since the project was proposed in 2009. "The competition is very stiff," Vandersteen said, with about five applicants for every grant.
The housing society has put a lot of work into this project, said Coun. Malcolm Parker, council's liaison to the group, and had a feeling that it would get this grant after it was turned down for similar funds earlier this year.
"Now it's a reality, and we're happy about that."
St. Albert has a great need for affordable homes, Parker said. A recent study by the Capital Region Board found that St. Albert would need some 1,515 new affordable rental units by 2019.
"This [project] is a big step forward," he said. "It provides a real good base on which to build on to get more units into the community."
About 28 of the project's units will be wheelchair-accessible, which was good news to Paul Fujishige, executive director of Transitions, a group that focuses on mobility issues.
"People with disabilities should be a part of the community," he said, adding that many residents have had to leave St. Albert because they couldn't find accessible homes. Units like these would let more residents stay in town and contribute to the local economy.
Vandersteen said she hoped to start construction of Big Lake Pointe within six weeks once the city approves the project's development permit. The project should be finished by January 2013.
Visit biglakepointe.com for details on the project.
