Ontario Construction News staff writer
Almost 500 new affordable housing units were created across Simcoe County last year, raising the total to 2,364 over six years.
The County of Simcoe released its seventh annual report card, Housing Our Future: 2020 Annual Report this week.
“The County has been aggressively working on its ten-year strategy to address affordable housing and homelessness prevention needs within our communities since 2014,” said Warden George Cornell.
“I am incredibly proud to say that despite the unique challenges we faced throughout the majority of 2020, we worked with our area partners to create 491 new affordable housing units in Simcoe County over a 12-month period.”
The report shows the County has reached 88 per cent of its 10-year goal for new units.
“We understand that the need for affordable housing is growing and staff are working extremely hard on a number of large developments and innovative strategies to support our residents and communities,” Cornell said.
New affordable housing units are created through a variety of methods, including:
- Rent supplements and housing allowances ($1.86 million)
- Ontario Renovates and Secondary Suites programs ($1.3 million)
- Affordable homeownership programs ($347,700 in affordable homeownership down-payment supports)
- New affordable rental development ($40.3 million investments; $80 million approved for future new developments)
The strategy is divided into three phases (2014-2017, 2018-2020, and 2021-2024) with a target of 895 new affordable housing units in each phase. This allows the County to revisit and evaluate progress at the end of each phase of the ten-year strategy.
“As we enter the third and final phrase of our ten-year strategy, we have a lot to look forward to including the new affordable housing project in Bradford just announced and the ongoing Orillia hub project, which build on recent new developments in other areas of the County,” said Greg Bishop, general manager of social and community services.
A planned housing hub in Orillia would add about 130 affordable units as well as space for social services.
The overall strategy will continue to focus on supporting residents through maximizing funding, achieving targets, and working with area partners to create affordable housing units for residents across the county.