City of Kenora, district services board agree to move forward with seniors' housing project

A partnership between the City of Kenora and the district services board could lead to a vacant property becoming the site of an affordable housing development for seniors.

The city and the Kenora District Services Board reached an agreement last week for the board to acquire the site at the corner of Seventh Street South and Eighth Street South, known as the Howard Property.

The district services board proposes constructing a 54-unit building, which would feature a mixed-market model.

Henry Wall,chief administrative officer of the services board, said some seniors have been forced to move hundreds of kilometres away from the areabecause of a lack of affordable housing options.

"It is going to make a big difference to the many seniors who are looking at staying in the community where they raised their families, where Kenora is their home," Wall said.

"It's housing that's going to be affordable. It's going to be accessible."

Wall said the services board had alist of 1,100 households awaiting housing in the Kenora District, with a few hundred of those being seniors.

The reasons for the lack of affordable housing, Wall said, includeescalating real estate prices in competitive local housing markets, as well as the high costs of construction in the region.

Rising household costsalso make it challenging for seniors on fixed incomes to remain in their homes, he added.

Wall said the development would be designed to easily allow service providers to come in and work with residents.

"By giving seniors an option to move into housing that better suits their needs, that's also affordable, it's going to open other housing units in the community," Wall said. "If seniors are able to sell their home or move from a family home into this residence, it's going to make that home available for families."

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is funding the planning and design process through the National Housing Strategy. Wall said an application has been made for capital funding through the strategy, as well as the provincial government.

But, Wall said, the project wouldn't be possible without the commitment shown by Kenora city council, whichagreed to sell the land at a discounted rate and to help cover sewer and water connection costs, as well as partnerships with community agencies.

"What it does is it pushes a project into the affordability realm and that's what we really needed," Wall said, adding he hopes other municipalities can learn from the agreement.

"Even though they may not be directly involved in the housing business, this kind of approach ensures the housing sector has a good chance of being successful in that community."

Construction could begin next year, Wall said.