(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

$1.5 MILLION

Red Deer city council approves grant for supportive housing

May 30, 2024 | 9:53 AM

Red Deer city council has unanimously granted a funding request of $1.5 million to the Red Deer Housing Authority to support a first-wave construction of 40 permanent supportive housing units followed by 60 additional units.

The funding will go towards the land acquisition for a Permanent Supportive Housing Capital Project and will be taken from the Operating Reserve – Tax Supported (ORTS).

“This has been identified as a huge need in our community and as I knocked on so many doors this last spring, housing came up often,” said Councillor Chad Krahn.

Councillor Victor Doerksen moved to amend that the funding come from the Land Bank Reserve instead, so that the site would become a municipal asset. It was seconded by Councillor Bruce Buruma, but defeated 5-1 when put to a vote.

The proposal said the Red Deer Housing Authority has put “extensive work” into ensuring the project is shovel-ready and aims for it to be completed in 14 months. It has secured a conditional land acquisition deal that is set to expire on June 30.

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“In Red Deer alone, our current vacancy rate is 0.8 per cent compared to just four years ago, in 2020, we were at a 9.0 per cent vacancy rate. What a shift over just a few short years. Affordable housing is truly, in our current national landscape, it is the critical priority for every municipality and in particular in Red Deer,” said Councillor Vesna Higham in support of the grant.

Landing monetary municipal support and officially acquiring land may increase the organization’s odds of securing a provincial partnership it was unable to secure in the last round of applications.

The recommended $1.5 million represents a contribution of eight per cent of the $18 million project total. Leading Housing, a consultant that provided research on different possible funding scenarios, found that more successful capital projects tend to have municipal contributions between five and 19 per cent.

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