Raising the Roof is seeking $506,000 in city funding to support their planned affordable housing project at the downtown Canada Post building.
The funding was requested at Monday’s council meeting to support an application for the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation’s (CMHC) Rapid Housing Initiative, which would supply “at least” $8.8 million in funding for the project, officials said.
Without the city’s support, the application is unlikely to succeed, they said.
“(CMHC) need to see city support for projects like this, (as) they won't fund it if they are the only level of government that is invested in the project,” Raising the Roof’s Leslie Bellingham told city councillors Monday during a deputation at city hall.
The 25 Peter St. N. project will include 40 bachelor, one- and two- bedroom units, ranging from 320- to 640 square feet, and it will provide social supports for tenants through its partner organization, Redwood Park Communities.
If the bid for Rapid Housing Initiative funding is successful, each of its units will be rented at “deeply affordable” rates of $434 per month or lower.
“The Rapid Housing Initiative is designed to provide extremely significant support for projects like this. They have indicated this project has a very good likelihood of success because of the deep affordability that we are able to achieve,” Bellingham explained.
If they don't qualify for the Rapid Housing funding, things will be much different.
“If we are unsuccessful for Rapid Housing, it will be a much different situation,” she said. “We expect that 16 of the units will be market rent, and 24 of them will be at 80 per cent of average market rent.”
Raising the Roof’s funding request to the city includes a $10,000 “per door” grant, totalling $400,000, as well as $106,500 for land purchase and a grant for fees, as well as a letter of support from the city for its CMHC application.
Previously, the organization was going to ask the city for development charge exemptions but, with the changes brought on by Bill 23, development charges no longer apply to numerous affordable housing developments.
Raising the Roof has also requested $3 million in capital funding from Simcoe County, as well as $400,000 annually for operational costs.
Council agreed to have the mayor’s office draft a letter of support, and for the city to review the request under its municipal incentives for affordable housing policy.
“There's a staff report that's going to the affordable housing committee. They will make a recommendation to council, and then council will make a decision on the amount of grant that can be made available through that policy,” explained Ian Sugden, general manager of development services and engineering.
It's expected the recommendation from the affordable housing committee will be discussed by council at its next meeting Jan. 30.
Coun. Whitney Smith applauded Raising the Roof’s efforts to make the project “deeply affordable.”
“Thank you for bringing this project here, and not only making it affordable but deeply affordable,” she said. “That really is going to help the people here in Orillia, and local to Simcoe County, that are dealing with housing insecurity.”
Coun. Tim Lauer asked where the tenants for the building would be sourced from.
“Redwood Park Communities would be the main entity that would be doing the intake: they do draw from Simcoe County's list of people in … greatest housing need, so that's where they mainly get people from,” Bellingham said.
Cam Davidson, chair of the affordable housing committee, highlighted the importance of bringing “deeply affordable” housing units to the most vulnerable in Orillia.
“The bottom line is housing is far too expensive for people who are in great need,” he told OrilliaMatters. “They're not going be able to afford $700-$800 a month because they don't make enough money to afford that. $434 a month … is for the core people that are spending more than 50 per cent of their income on housing, so that might be attainable for them.”
“Right now they don't have a chance.”
