Kitchener land donation helps kick off affordable housing project in region
An ambitious plan to bring 10,000 affordable homes to Waterloo Region is officially underway, thanks to a land donation from the City of Kitchener.
The two acres of land across from Stanley Park Mall was officially donated to Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region Thursday morning.
The parcel will be used for roughly 65 affordable homes, ranging from one to four bedrooms, be sold to low income households, and cost around $400,000 each.
"The city's giving us land estimated at $5.5 million," said Philip Mills, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region. "That's $5.5 million that we as a charity don't have to fundraise or develop, so that's right off the top."
The BUILD NOW: Waterloo Region partnership was announced in July of last year, which aims to create 7,000 for purchase homes and 3,000 rentals in the area by 2030.
"Folks came together from all across the community and said 'we need to do something and we need to do something big,'" said Mills. "This is a big problem and it needs a big solution."
The donation also comes as part of the $42.4 million Housing Accelerator Fund initiative, provided from the federal government to the City of Kitchener.
"The last big part of this is our development partners who are waiving their profit margins," said Mills. "They're working for cost with us. So you take out the land, take out the development charges, and take out the profit in housing, and we can get the cost dramatically reduced."
Construction on the new homes is expected to begin early next year and welcome homeowners in by 2027.
"What's cool about this is ownership and affordable ownership and perpetuity at scale, that's really exciting about the BUILD NOW project," said Mills. "This isn't just something that's a one time investment. These homes will be affordable forever.
"The more we build, the more affordability there is in the region."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW 'She was waiting for you': The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother in England
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
'Love has no boundaries': Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Ontario family releases statement on infant son, grandparents killed in wrong-way Highway 401 crash
An Ontario family says they are 'reeling' in 'profound grief' after losing their three-month-old son and parents visiting from India in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last Monday.