Fredericton rolls out Housing Accelerator Fund grants

Fredericton city council approved new grants under the federal Housing Accelerator Fund on Monday.

One of the grants will support secondary dwellings on properties and the other will help non-profits develop affordable homes.

Mayor Kate Rogers said the city is focusing on non-profits with the grants.

“A lot of non-profit organizations are thinking about entering into non-market housing, mainly for people that they might work with and that they might have a mandate to serve,” said Rogers, who is also the chair of the affordable housing committee.

This is the second phase of grants from the fund. On March 25, city council approved grants focused on supporting non-profits interested in non-market housing and a grant incentivizing more rental units.

Habitat for Humanity New Brunswick CEO Perry Kendall sees the need for more housing every day. He estimates for every family they help access affordable housing, they have to turn away five to 10 other qualified families.

“Quite honestly, it’s a little frightening, some of the situations people end up living in,” he said.

Kendall, who is also on the affordable housing committee, said he plans to apply for the grant to help develop affordable homes. It has up to $40,000 available per unit.

He said if it’s approved, it will be game-changing.

“It’s going to give us a 20 per cent increase in the number of homes,” he said.

All the grants come from the $10.3 million that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) awarded Fredericton in January. Once that fund runs out, the grants will end. The city plans to award grants based on demand.

“We need everyone participating in this, but our focus as a city is really to build that non-profit housing sector,” Rogers said.

But Kendall said the grant still won’t be enough for his organization to meet its demand.

“It’s going to make a difference, without question. Is it going to solve the problem? No, unfortunately not,” he said.