KAWARTHA LAKES-16 individuals and families now have a place to call home after new affordable housing units opened in Lindsay today.
The 9 one bedroom and 7 two bedroom units are an addition to to a three story building on St Paul Street called Flynn Gardens, owned by Kawarhta Lakes Haliburton (KLH)Housing Corp. “Thank you everyone for joining us, it’s an exciting day for the official opening of 16 affordable housing units.” said Vice Chair, Councillor Pat O’Reilly. The KLH realizes the importance of partnerships who made this project possible.”
The project cost $3.3 million dollars. $1.6 million came from the sale of older homes, a $70,000 reserve contribution from KLH Housing Corp and a variety of municipal incentives from the City of Kawartha Lakes including waived development charges, waived planning application fees and building permit fees. The project also received funding through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. “4 of the units are for the city’s homeless from the by-name list” O’Reilly says.
Dylan Robichaud, Assistant to MP Jamie Schmale was at the ribbon cutting. “I am honoured and exited that these 16 units are available for people in the City of Kawartha Lakes.”
“This addition is a huge step forward as we all work together to address the housing needs in our city, as you know our city has a vacancy rate of about 1% which makes it very hard for families with low to moderate income to find adequate housing.” said Mayor Andy Letham. “It’s a big challenge and takes our entire community to provide a solution.”
There are currently more than 1500 households on the City’s centralized waiting list who wait approximately 5 years for financially assisted housing. almost 52% of households who rent are spending 30% or more on shelter costs according to KLH.
KLH provides safe, accessible sustainable and affordable housing options for households in the City of Kawartha Lakes and haliburton County.
