Anonymous. Daily Gleaner. Fredericton, N.B.: Aug 19, 2011. pg. A.3
Abstract (Summary)
Mike O'Brien and members of the city's affordable housing group met recently with federal Social Development Minister Sue Stultz - the provincial minister responsible for seniors, housing and community non-profit organizations. During the meeting with Stultz, representatives from Fredericton Homeless Shelters Inc., the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce and the city's Community Action Group on Homelessness were able to talk with the minister, O'Brien said.
» Jump to indexing (document details)
Full Text (891 words)
(Copyright (c) 2011 The Daily Gleaner (Fredericton))
Fredericton developers are becoming more open to including rent-subsidized housing in their new apartment developments, says the chairman of Fredericton's affordable housing committee.
Coun. Mike O'Brien and members of the city's affordable housing group met recently with federal Social Development Minister Sue Stultz - the provincial minister responsible for seniors, housing and community non-profit organizations.
O'Brien said the city's affordable housing committee has had enjoyed a great relationship with Social Development ministers over the years.
"We've met with each minister in the past and explained what our committee's mandate is and that we can't move forward without their continued assistance, and we have had tremendous co-operation from the Social Development ministers, deputies and executive staff over the years," O'Brien said.
During the meeting with Stultz, representatives from Fredericton Homeless Shelters Inc., the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce and the city's Community Action Group on Homelessness were able to talk with the minister, O'Brien said.
The minister visited six affordable-housing developments in the city, including The Tannery at Brookside Court project, developed by Avide Properties.
Over the past decade, Fredericton developers have become more accepting of including affordable housing in their mix of market-geared apartment construction, the councillor said.
The city's Lutheran Church built an affordable-housing development on Regent Street with the help of Avide Properties.
Another developer opened up a project on Cliffe Street. The John Howard Society built one on Main Street.
Two other projects are located in the Brookside Drive area, including a development to open in the fall. Other developers have included government rent-supported units in other buildings.
O'Brien said by having resident property managers, the developments are being maintained properly and tenant issues are addressed.
"I think we've seen a lot of successes, quality buildings, successful projects and improvements to neighbourhoods, and one by one, we're tearing down the wall of resistance," he said.
"In the past, the money allotted to the greater Fredericton area for programing was not being used for two reasons. Our developers were maybe timid of getting into these types of projects because of the perception and the stigma attached to them. And the other reason is they were just too busy building new homes, apartments and condos."
By organizing annual affordable-housing days hosted by the affordable-housing committee, the city has been gradually educating developers to the funding options available to them and easing their concerns about government red tape.
"We made them aware that they can get into these programs with less restrictions and headaches than they thought might exist," O'Brien said.
He believes there's a shift in public attitudes toward affordable housing.
"The community is more accepting and embracing of the need," O'Brien said.
"Also, the market for expensive homes and apartments is not infinite. You can build a quality, affordable-housing development and make money off of it, and that's not a dirty word at all."
Fredericton Non-Profit Housing is another group that has done a great job of taking existing housing stock and retrofitting it for affordable housing, O'Brien said.
Tim Ross, co-ordinator of the Community Action Group on Homelessness, said the city's housing need is like an iceberg.
"The largest part of the problem is hidden from view," Ross said.
"There's about 30,000 households in Fredericton, and there are 6,105 households that are considered to be in distress. That's based on Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. data that reports on housing affordability, overcrowding and housing that's in need of major repair."
About 1,095 households in Fredericton are considered to be overcrowded, and 2,485 households are in need of major repair.
"Overcrowding and housing that's in need of major repair can have significant impacts on an individual's health and safety, economic and social participation," Ross said.
"You can imagine if you are also a child going to school, that can have a huge impact on learning outcomes."
The 6,105 households the action group said face tough financial straits are spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing. If most of the household income goes to pay for a roof and walls, then there's little left for healthy food and other family needs.
Ross agreed with O'Brien that developers are opening up to the concept of affordable housing.
"We've been building very effective partnerships with developers on the delivery of affordable housing programing, and we've also seen a significant drop in the not-in-my-backyard syndrome when developments come forward," Ross said.
"The goal, at the end of the day, is more mixed-income development where an individual's housing may be subsidized, but it's seamlessly blended into our community ... Most residents wouldn't even know where affordable housing units are located in the city ... You may already be a neighbour of a subsidized unit."
Ross said there's a need for the provincial and federal governments to sort out an agreement that will release funds committed federally in 2008 to be released into the province.
"The two levels of government have been negotiating on its implementation. We saw a lot of funding come through with the last round of affordable-housing funding, and it's making a huge impact on stabilizing health, social and economic outcomes in our community," Ross said.
The numbers are starting to show in the homeless shelter figures. In 2009, there were 377 individuals staying at the city's men's and women's homeless shelters. In 2010, those numbers dropped to 323.
Indexing (document details)
Subjects: Households, Housing developments, Affordable housing, Homeless people
Author(s): Anonymous
Document types: News
Section: Main
Publication title: Daily Gleaner. Fredericton, N.B.: Aug 19, 2011. pg. A.3
Source type: Newspaper
ISSN: 08216983
ProQuest document ID: 2429171421
Text Word Count 891
Document URL: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=2429171421&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=80182&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Print | Email | Copy link | Cite this | Mark Document Publisher Information
^ Back to Top « Back to Results Document 1 of 70 Next >
Copyright © 2011 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions
No comments:
Post a Comment