Tuesday, Nov. 22, is National Housing Day, and to mark it, Habitat for Humanity Northumberland unveiled plans to build an affordable townhouse complex in Baltimore, Ont., just outside of Cobourg.
The seven units will be built at 4751 County Road 45, currently a vacant lot, with construction slated to start in spring 2023.
According to Habitat for Humanity Northumberland, this build will be its largest single-development project to date.
“We know this won’t solve the whole problem (of affordable housing) on its own, but we hope this project and other affordable housing projects in our community can alleviate some of the need we’ve been discussing,” Meaghan Macdonald, executive director for Habitat Northumberland, said at a project unveiling event at the site on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Additional $2.4M announced for Elgin Park affordable housing project in Cobourg, Ont.
“Not only will this be the largest single-development project for Habitat Northumberland, but it’s also the first time Habitat Northumberland is pursuing a net zero development.”
The project is being done in partnership with ZON Engineering, Simple Life Homes and Community Power Northumberland, and is planned to be the largest Habitat net zero development in Canada, according to Macdonald.
In addition to unveiling the 2023 project, Habitat also announced a successful anniversary campaign.
For its 24th anniversary, the organization sought to raise $24,000 over 24 days. The campaign achieved its goal thanks to 15 sponsors, making the five-year campaign total more than $125,000.
“The impact of this fundraising campaign year over year is incredible,” added Macdonald.
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“Those funds are going directly towards our build program, and they really make a difference in our ability to build local affordable housing.”
The issue of affordable housing isn’t exclusive to larger urban centers.
It’s also affecting rural areas such as Northumberland County, where the community centralized waitlist for subsidized housing has more than 1,000 households on it.
“Here in Northumberland, while the median household annual income rate is approx. $75,000, the year-to-date average resale price remains high at nearly $900,000 in October,” deputy warden Mandy Martin said.
“An extremely low rental vacancy along with high rental rates are intensifying the problem.”
“The board of directors of Habitat for Humanity Northumberland has developed a three-year strategic plan for 2023-25, with an overarching goal to broaden our impact and reach more people by adapting our service model, thereby facilitating housing stability, security and empowerment across our region,” board chair David Lester said.
“This project in Baltimore is the ideal example of how we hope to put our strategy into action.”
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Habitat Northumberland also announced it was launching a capital campaign on Tuesday called “Building Hope for Families” to raise key capital dollars to get the Baltimore development started.
The Pennington/Campbell family, led by Jacqueline Pennington and Greg Campbell, have agreed to chair the campaign.
“We’re so excited that Jacqueline, Greg, Robert and Elijah have agreed to help us with this campaign,” Macdonald said.
“It is so powerful that a family is coming together to help us build homes, and hope, for other families in our community.”
For more information on the project and campaign, go to habitatnorthumberland.ca.
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