The owner of Apollo Developments said risk was the major reason his company backed out of an affordable housing proposal with Habitat for Humanity for 70 Arlington Dr.
"Because of the project and the timeframe, we just didn't see it as a positive step for us at this time," said Apollo owner Andy Banack.
Along with Habitat for Humanity Edmonton president and CEO Alfred Nikolai, he presented an affordable housing idea to council earlier this year that would have seen 58 townhouse units built on the 1.2-hectare site. A new site plan filed last week with the city will see the number of units drop to 17 duplexes, including five barrier-free homes for people with disabilities.
Under the original proposal, Apollo would have marketed 43 of the units to the general public, requiring buyers to provide a five per cent downpayment with a conventional mortgage for 75 per cent of the property's value. The remaining 20 per cent would have been held in a second mortgage by Habitat. This mortgage would involve no payments or interest but would have to be paid back when the unit sells.
The concept was based on Options for Homes, an affordable housing model from Ontario that Banack said was successful.
The proposal was met with opposition from Akinsdale residents who felt families there were not getting the same kind of housing as others in the area. They said there were too many units for the land, the neighbourhood wouldn't be able to accommodate the traffic and the lack of backyards and basements was unfair to future owners.
Fifteen of the 58 units were designated for Habitat for Humanity's housing program, while the rest would have been sold on the market. With the resolution passed by council in May that stipulated no more than 34 units on the property, Banack said there was still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the project.
"We had no assurances the new plan would be accepted," he said. "We saw the risk in our part of the project increasing with no payback."
Helping people
Coun. Gareth Jones said he was happy to see the updated plan for the land, adding that he was glad it would be exclusively a Habitat development. Although he still has several questions about the finer details of the project, Jones said he believed the project could work better for St. Albert.
"I wasn't really happy that some of the units were going to be sold," he said. "The most important thing here is that we get the best that we can get for that land."
Apollo's decision to drop out of the project did not come as a surprise for Coun. Lorie Garritty, saying the issues Apollo ran into would make it hard for them to stay on board. However, Garritty said the new plan already has a bonus to it for those families in need of Habitat's help.
"There's 34 units instead of 15," he said. "That's pretty important to note."
Although Apollo has pulled out of the project, Banack said his company plans to continue with other affordable housing projects across the Capital region, using the Options for Homes model to finance them.
For more coverage, see page 26.
