The city will chip in toward two affordable housing projects to the collective tune of nearly $1.3 million. Council unanimously approved the contribution on Monday evening.
Grace Gardens, a permanent supportive housing project run by the Welcome In Drop-In Centre out of the former Parkview Motel on Woolwich Street, will receive $884,000, while Wyndham House’s Youth Supportive Housing Program is set to get $383,646.
The contributions were approved without comment on Monday.
“Combined, these projects will add 40 new permanent supportive and affordable housing units in Guelph,” states a staff report to council. “Municipal funding shows local support to other levels of government funders and can be critical for those applications.”
Grace Gardens involves 32 bachelor apartments that house members of the city’s homeless population. Since council approved rezoning in April, the former motel has undergone a number of renovations in order to improve accessibility, provide a shared kitchen and space for 24/7 support services.
“The project is currently in the final stages of an application under the (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation) Rapid Housing Initiative to fully fund the remainder of the project’s capital needs, which would leave the project debt-free,” explains a letter from the County of Wellington, which city council asked in June to issue an annual request for proposals and evaluate them, with a funding allocation recommendation to city council.
The Wyndham House project proposes to see the creation of eight affordable, supportive housing units and is ready to begin construction.
“This funding will leave this project largely debt-free,” adds the letter.
In June, city council asked the county to annually issue a request for proposals for funding allocations and provided a budget of $1.5 million for 2021. The funding recommendations add up to $1.27 million.
That process led to four applications, seeking more than $3.4 million combined. County officials believe the remaining two proposals, which aren’t as far along in the process, would be “great” for consideration in the future, should proponents choose to apply.
