Ontario Construction News staff writer
The County of Simcoe will be launching a new project aimed at addressing the housing needs of middle-income residents who are struggling with housing affordability, often referred to as the “missing middle”.
County Council directed staff to create a strategy to address attainable housing across Simcoe County, with the intention of developing a suite of tools that municipalities can use to help address the housing attainability in their communities.
“While our communities remain more affordable than many of our neighbouring jurisdictions, County Council is concerned with the rising cost of living for many of our residents,” said Warden George Cornell. “It is our hope that this project will identify creative solutions to help ease the burden for our residents and offer effective solutions to help our municipalities prioritize the right attainable housing product for our communities.”
Staff will work with various local municipalities to find partnership opportunities.
The vision for the new project is to develop a strategy examining factors that are escalating prices, the range of attainable homes across the region, land use planning supports, and identify what can be done by municipalities to ease the burden on our residents. The project is expected to begin September 2022 and will involve a cross-section of partners in the housing system.
The county manages projects ranging from transitionary housing and shelter support, to social and affordable housing, to financial assistance with affordable secondary/garden suites and age-friendly renovations, to seniors living and long term care.