When a doctor and her husband bought a great property on the outskirts of the city of Antigonish, NS, two years ago, they imagined what could be possible for their community.
“We were walking on the earth one day between fir and apple trees,” said Amy Hendricks, remembering the moment when her husband, Paul Davie, raised the idea.
“And he said: ‘Can’t you imagine an affordable housing development here?'”
Now, the planning is underway for a development that could lead to the construction of 150 housing units in a 16 -hectare land section that donated to the antigoneous society of affordable housing. The organization has already received initial funds to begin the evaluation process for a first phase that will include 56 units.
Hendricks, a specialist in internal medicine at the Regional Hospital of St. Martha in Antigonish, and his family moved to the city of almost 5,000 people from Yellowknife in 2016. When the couple looked for land to develop a clinic for Hendricks and other doctors to work, they found an 18 -hectare plot and bought it, knowing that it was much larger than the space they requested.
“We want to invest in a community and be part of the community that has younger people and older people and immigrants and children,” said Hendricks.
Colleen Cameron, president of the Board of the Ashequible Antigonese Housing Society, told CBC’s Maritime noon It was taken by surprise when Hendricks approached him to donate the property. But there was no doubt what Hendricks and Davie had in mind would help address the scarcity of housing in the area.
“The need is quite significant,” Cameron said Thursday.
He pointed out an evaluation of provincial housing needs that predicted that 2032 will need 1,500 new housing units in Antigonish County, which has a population of just over 20,000. The city, which includes the St. Francis Xavier University, has similar needs, although on a smaller scale.
“That exercises additional tension in our community in terms of access to affordable homes with the hospital and the university,” Cameron said. “So, what we are doing is contributing about 10 percent of that stock of homes that will be required for 2032.”
The entire project is expected to cost around $ 22 million. Cameron said his organization will request subsidies, mortgages and refundable loans through the housing of Nueva Scotia and the Canada housing and mortgage corporation.
The housing society itself has to raise five percent of that amount, or a little more than $ 1 million, which will require efforts to collect community funds and support.
Cameron said that he foresees a diverse community of residents, with “people of all ages, people of various income and various origins. There will be people who have full -time jobs, there will be people who are older people.”
Most of the units will be classified as affordable, based on the definition of housing in New Scotland, he said.
Someone requesting a rental unit would have to have an income below $ 62,000, he said. For a two -bedroom unit, the household limit is $ 72,000. There will also be units of three and four bedrooms.
“They are not low, low income, but if you are earning that kind of money, it is still a great challenge to obtain any type of housing that is affordable in this community,” Cameron said.
Maritime noon52:28Phone-in today: Expert in Dog Behavior Silvia Jay. In addition, affordable housing news of Antigonish and Monarch Butterflies in NB.
On the phone: our dog behavior expert, Silvia Jay, takes your questions. But first, we listen to a new development of affordable housing in the work in Antigoníse, and good news for monarch butterfly populations.
Hendricks said he hopes that the entire city will benefit from these housing units.
“We are all members of the community and we are excited to be there together and develop something that I think will be really beautiful.”
