This week marks one year since construction started on a new affordable housing build in Port Colborne.
The project, which is the first project of its kind by Port Cares, has seen the majority of exterior construction is nearing completion and interior framing and servicing is well underway.
CEO Christine Clark Lafleur says at times, it still doesn’t feel real.
For Clark Lafleur, the motivation to take on the mammoth task of building affordable housing was sparked by finding a tangible way to reduce the growing need and reliance on the food bank. “Having to find ways to increase donations to the food bank and making the food bank bigger has never made sense to me.”
Clark Lafleur explains that food banks came into existence in Canada 50 years ago as a stop gap measure to help alleviate conditions of poverty. Now a half century later, food banks including Port Cares are experiencing unprecedented demand as more and more households are having to rely on charity to feed themselves. Clark Lafleur believes that the alleviation of poverty and the ability to stave-off more households slipping into poverty rests in finding upstream solutions such as building more affordable housing.
She adds that the wait time for affordable housing in the area is long, and hopes this project will help improve that.
Port Cares’ 41-unit rental unit building is located on Chestnut Street just south of Highway 3 and east of the Welland Canal, and will feature of 32 one-bedroom units and 9 two-bedroom units, with the goal of helping independent low-income seniors and female led-single parent families. Port Cares expects the build to be done in early-2025.
QUICK FACTS ABOUT PORT CARES CHESTNUT STREET AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT
- The build will provide deeply affordable rental housing for independent low-income seniors and female led-single parent families.
- The building consists of 32 one-bedroom units and 9 two-bedroom units.
- Funding for the $16 million building project has come through a variety of sources including Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Rapid Housing Initiative, Region of Niagara, donors and fundraising.
- Whiteline Architects of St. Catharines designed the building and Rankin Construction is the builder.
- The City of Port Colborne donated the property for the build to Port Cares for the sole purpose of the affordable housing build.
(Written by: Matt Latour)
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