St. Thomas is moving ahead with another affordable housing project, with the city donating $2.7 million and a portion of land for a new 40-unit development beside the YWCA St. Thomas-Elgin.
The three-storey building, planned for 53 Hiawatha St., is intended to support seniors and young adults, while also including a dedicated Indigenous gathering and programming space.
Mayor Joe Preston says the project reflects an approach that has helped the city secure funding for a growing number of affordable housing developments.
“We’ve always tried to keep one or two projects ready to go in a box, with land or cooperative partners like the YWCA, so that if funds become available from the province or federal government, we can say, ‘St. Thomas is ready to go,'” Preston said.
The development will be built on a parcel of city-owned land beside the YWCA’s existing property.
“Most communities have little pieces of land that are too small or too large for something,” Preston said. “In this case, when we discovered that land was sitting there, we just didn’t know what we would use it for. It’s a really misshapen piece of land close to our downtown.”
“We got together without friends at YWCA again and let them talk about how high we could make the building, where we could put it, how much parking would be needed, that type of thing. It makes for a great community project,” he said.
There is currently no timeline for when construction will begin.