Community bond program aims to boost affordable housing in Haliburton County

A new community bond program aims to increase the affordable housing supply in Haliburton County, Ont.

On Tuesday, the not-for-profit organization Places for People (P4P) launched the community bond program with a goal to raise $850,000 by the fall of 2023 to refinance current projects to work towards a goal of more than doubling their affordable housing supply from 12 to 28 units over the next five years.

P4P’s 12 affordable housing units are situated across five locations within Haliburton County: Haliburton, Minden, West Guilford, Carnarvon and Cardiff. Since being founded in 2007, P4P reports it has housed 24 families (37 adults and 54 children). Seven tenant households have moved on to home ownership.

Jody Curry, president of P4P, says community bonds allow the organization to leverage a network of supports and citizens to reach their housing goals while offering a financial return.

With an investment of as low as $1,000 and interest rates up to five per cent, Curry says P4P bonds are designed to attract a wider range of investors among permanent and seasonal residents, cottagers, tourists and businesses. Interest will be paid annually.

“We’ve heard from a wide array of people in our community who are seeking opportunities to make a transformative social impact with their investment dollars,” said Curry. “A major incentive is that investors can support affordable housing while feeling confident in the knowledge that P4P bonds are backed and secured by our real estate. Their money stays in the county.”

Through the finances raised under the bond campaign, the organization also aims to support 16 to 25 additional people to access affordable housing; expand their portfolio to include new, smaller, energy-efficient, multi-unit developments; expand the investor base to 75 individuals or organizations and grow their asset base from a current market value of $2.5 million to $6.75 million.

The community bond program will also be used to create a case study of the first community bond used in a rural Ontario community to help finance affordable housing.

“Haliburton County faces a severe housing crisis due to a chronic shortage of affordable rentals, exacerbated by soaring real estate prices and population growth driven by COVID-19,” said P4P founder and vice-president Fay Martin.

According to Statistics Canada’s 2021 census, the county’s population in 2021 was 20,571 — a 13.9 per cent jump from the 18,062 population reported in 2016

“And this figure is projected to reach 21 per cent once the full impact of COVID is realized,” said Martin. “The demand for affordable rentals has reached unprecedented levels. Places for People aims to address this urgent need by creating more affordable housing.  We seek to make this vision a reality through community bonds.”

The early adopters of the community bond program include the Haliburton County Development Corporation with a $50,000 investment.

The community bond program has already reached $212,800 — or approximately 25 per cent — of the $850,000 goal as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the program’s website.

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