'A nicer place to live': Non-profit and co-op units on P.E.I. get $1 million in upgrades

Some community non-profit and co-op housing properties on P.E.I. are getting much-needed renovations, thanks to more than $1 million in federal funding.

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There are 10 projects in total on P.E.I., with the largest renovation being $632,000 for the Hensley Green Co-operative in Charlottetown. There are also renovations planned for housing units in Tignish, Alberton, O'Leary and Summerside.

"What it basically does throughout is it basically raises everyone's standard of living, by replacing and upgrading parts of their apartments and houses that couldn't be done as quick, they may have to wait another five or ten years otherwise, without this funding," said Dan Murray, the property manager with Atlantic Peoples Housing.

His company operates four of the properties that received federal funding, including Hensley Green Co-operative, Royalty Oaks, Pownal Square Co-op and A.T.O. Properties, which has units in western P.E.I.

Murray's company used to be part of the real estate division of Co-op Atlantic. When it folded, Atlantic Peoples Housing continued as a private entity. It manages fifteen different non-profit or co-op properties and applied for federal funding for all of them.

Showing their age

Most of the buildings were constructed almost 30 years ago and are in need of upgrades.

"A number of non-profits were developed in the eighties and in the early nineties, a number of housing co-ops were also developed so over the years it's been found that the reserves haven't quite been sufficient to accommodate all of the replacement needs so this funding came at a good time," said Murray.

The federal money will be used for improvements to kitchens and bathrooms, to replace doors, windows and flooring, and for adding insulation.

"They'll end up with a nicer place to live and the buildings themselves will be more efficient, just improving the buildings overall," said Murray.

'It means a lot'

At the Pownal Square Senior's Co-op, the federal funding was used to rebuild a verandah that residents use extensively in the summer.

"We have flower boxes out there and hanging baskets all summer and a lot of our residents use this in the summertime," explained Elayne McLaine, vice-president of the Pownal Co-op board.

However, she admited, it's a project that wouldn't have happened without the federal funding.

"Our rents here are fairly reasonable and in order to do a big capital project like that, we'd have to really save the money to be able to do it and maybe not right away," said McLaine.

"This federal funding for the co-op, it means a lot to the people here."

More work to be done

The renovations need to be done by the end of March, and Dan Murray hopes to apply for more funding for similar work in the future.

"We'd like to see as much again or even twice as much as we received this time, there just seems to be more replacement and renovation that needs to be done," said Murray.

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