Prince Edward County Council has received an update about affordable housing on Disraeli Street.
During Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, council reviewed a report from the Prince Edward County Affordable Housing Corporation, giving an update on progress the corporation has made on the affordable housing development on Disraeli Street in Picton.
The property at 30 Disraeli Street was first given to the Affordable Housing Corporation in 2021. Since then, the corporation has had difficulty securing funding to build, and the lot has remained vacant. Now there are plans to construct an eight-unit apartment building which would be ready for occupants before the end of the year. Of the eight units, five would be set at market rates and the other three would be affordable.
The plans include a partnership with a modular construction company, Theberge Construction Limited, which would reduce construction costs by up to 40% per unit. Despite the reduced cost, there is still a funding shortfall which the Affordable Housing Corporation is working to resolve. So far, they have secured a loan towards the costs, but it doesn’t cover the full cost of construction. The Affordable Housing Corporation is looking at ways to close the funding gap, and is considering solutions that may include asking the municipality for funding or to waive utility connection fees.
The report prompted discussion among the councillors. Councillor Corey Englesdorfer raised concerns with the project’s financing.
“I’m struggling with the gap between what we keep being presented as ready to proceed and what in, at least, in my mind, is still, still clearly really conditional,” said Councillor Englesdorfer. “So how can we keep saying that we’re close to construction without any money?”
The committee accepted the report for information, but took no further action at this time.
