City of Summerside pursuing affordable housing for downtown

Chief administrative officer of SummersideBobAshley said the city wants to construct affordable housing downtown.

Earlier this week, the city sent out an expression of interest fordevelopers to pursue the city's first affordable housing project.

"We're looking for that expertise to come on board and guide us," Ashley said.

Revitalizing the downtown 'a priority'

"There is no specific site, but it would be contained to the downtown waterfront area, or even tighter than that the business improvement area," Ashley said.

"Like many towns across the country, trying to revitalize the downtown is a priority. To do that you need bodies walking to and fro, recreating and working downtown."

Ashley said the city would seekfunding from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) a crown corporation that invests in affordable housing.

The corporation's $200MAffordable Rental Innovation Fundis a program that looks for housing solutions that are affordable but innovative when it comes to energy anddesign.

The deadline for developers to express interest is Aug. 11.

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |'They were just streaming': Resident raising concerns about traffic on Cornwall roundabouts
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |P.E.I. undecided on whether it will cover cost of abortion drug