Alberta Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services Jeremy Nixon announced on Wednesday, December 7 the province will invest $55 million over three years to give Albertans more access to affordable housing.
The new Affordable Housing Partnership program would provide funding for up to one-third the total project cost for new construction, renovation, or development of affordable housing projects.
“(Affordable housing) is not just an issue that’s impacting our large urban centres, it’s also impacting our rural communities, and this province and this government has a commitment to addressing affordable housing right across this entire province,” Minister Nixon stated during the announcement.
Minister Nixon added the goal of the Affordable Housing Partnership program is to develop 25,000 new affordable housing units, and it is expected this funding will help support a variety of projects.
The Town of Drumheller is currently in the process of developing a housing strategy, which also includes provisions for affordable housing within the community. There is an anticipated need to increase available housing by some 220 units of all affordability by 2026 to accommodate expected population growth within the community.
“Currently, the Town of Drumheller does have 50 subsidized rental units, and 20 affordable rental units,” says Drumheller Housing Administration (DHA) board chair Crystal Sereda. “The Housing Strategy already, in its early stages, indicates we’re short on those and there is a need for additional affordable rental options.”
She notes administration from both the Town and DHA are looking at the application, but says it is fairly extensive, and there is a lot of information each needs to collect.
With the short application window, until January 11, 2023, this does present some challenges.
“It’s almost a catch-22; it’s really great we’re having this Housing Strategy done right now, but it’s just not quite ready yet,” Ms. Sereda says, adding the Housing Strategy will provide “good, concrete evidence” which will help to support an application.
Given the $55 million investment will be over a three-year period, Ms. Sereda is hopeful this will give them the opportunity to apply in a future intake round if the full application cannot be completed prior to the first intake deadline.
