Froude Avenue properties retrofitted through
Affordable Housing Program
John Efford, Member of Parliament for Avalon, on behalf of Joe Fontana,
Minister of Labour and Housing along with Joan Burke, provincial
Minister
of Human Resources, Labour and Employment and Minister Responsible for
Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation, (NLHC) today announced a
major retrofit for NLHC-owned St. John’s property.
Approximately $400,000 is going to be spent to convert a
vacant building
on Froude Avenue from eight three-bedroom units into eight
energy-efficient
two-bedroom units. Four of these units will be accessible. Funding of
$320,000
will be provided under the Canada-Newfoundland Affordable Housing
Agreement.
The rest of the funding, $80,000, will be provincially funded through
Newfoundland
and Labrador Housing Corporation’s modernization and improvement budget
for 2005-2006.
“The Government of Canada is committed to increasing
affordable housing
options for those most in need throughout the country,” said MP Efford.
“This project is an excellent example of what can be accomplished when
we work together. We’re pleased to partner with the provincial
government
to help create more functional, safe and affordable housing that will
benefit
many people in the community for years to come.”
“It is critical that NLHC respond to the unique and changing
needs of
our clients. Under the Affordable Housing Partnership, we will continue
to strive to be flexible and creative to provide units better suited to
our clients’ needs,” said Minister Burke.
The retro-fitted building will have four fully accessible
two-bedroom
units on the ground floor. The upper floor will be converted to four,
two-bedroom
dwellings, which will address a need for smaller-sized units as
indicated
by current family demographics. All the units will be electrically
heated,
and equipped with individual laundry and storage space. NLHC will
review
every opportunity to promote the most energy efficient reconstruction
of
this property. Project planning and design is now underway and
construction
is anticipated to be completed in 2006.
For further information contact:
Jenny Bowing, NLHC, (709) 724-3055
Todd Selby, CMHC-SCHL, (902) 426-8127
E-mail: releases@nlhc.nf.ca
Backgrounder
Affordable Housing Program Agreement Summary
Objectives:
- to increase the supply of off-reserve affordable housing in
Newfoundland
and Labrador; the housing must be affordable for at least 10 years.
Programs:
Funding under this agreement will be used to:
- stimulate the production of new rental affordable housing
and the
rehabilitation
of severely deteriorated existing rental affordable housing for
low-to-moderate-income
households;
- create new affordable ownership housing and to rehabilitate
severely
deteriorated
existing affordable ownership housing for low-to-moderate-income
households
in Labrador .
Administration:
- the program(s) will be administered by the Newfoundland and
Labrador
Housing
Corporation (NLHC);
- NLHC is responsible for the selection of affordable housing
projects.
Financial Provisions:
- Maximum CMHC funding under the agreement is $15.14 million
to be
matched
by the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, municipalities and others;
- Overall average CMHC funding will not exceed $25,000 per
unit;
- $5.0 million in federal funding is allocated to remote
areas (Labrador).
|
