Question marks surround the future of affordable housing in St. Albert given recent news that two local projects failed to attract provincial grants and potential answers are a couple of months away.
The failure of the Sturgeon Foundation and the St. Albert Housing Society to attract provincial funding for their respective projects has city administration regrouping to assemble a list of options for city council, which is due at the end of April.
One of the questions is what happens to the plot of land in North Ridge that was to be home to the housing society’s Big Lake Pointe rental complex? The city used $3.2 million in provincial affordable housing money to buy the land. The city holds the title but it’s unclear whether it can bank it for a future project or if it’s required to sell it and use the proceeds for something else, said city manager Bill Holtby.
Mayor Nolan Crouse hopes to see something developed on that land.
“My gut feel says that if we’re allowed to keep title to that land in North Ridge, that we keep that title and continue to work on some sort of a project,” Crouse said.
Another question is what to do with the $750,000 the city promised to the Sturgeon Foundation to expand its North Ridge Lodge, a commitment that was subject to the project getting provincial money.
Before staff brings forward a summary of the city’s position and a list of options for council to consider, they will have some internal discussions about which direction they think the city should take, said director of planning and development Curtis Cundy.
One of the options that interests city administrators is putting the money toward the basement suite grant program, which has allocated all the money it got from the city. The program has approved 58 units and left about 20 people on a waiting list.
“Something like that, you can allocate the funds and get the units now, whereas if you hang onto the land … and look at developing something in the future, that’s a more longer-term commitment,” Cundy said.
The Sturgeon Foundation had applied for $4 million to expand its North Ridge Lodge to provide 42 units for adults with disabilities. The St. Albert Housing Society was seeking $6.4 million to build the first half of a 96-unit rental complex.
The failed funding applications have left project proponents reviewing what went wrong and wondering what will happen now.
“The fact that provincial funding to build is not there has created a huge problem that somehow we have to find a way to overcome,” said St. Albert Housing Society chair David McGreer.
Marguerite Bosvik of the Sturgeon Foundation is reviewing her costs and planning to speak to council about the city’s grant. She’s unsure whether provincial money will still be available but she’s confident the project will happen someday.
“I always think that something will materialize,” she said. “It’s up to the foundation to find it.”
In the latest budget released Thursday, the province allocated $100 million toward its affordable housing initiative — down from $188 million last year — but is still defining the process for awarding the money, said Housing and Urban Affairs spokesman Dan Laville.
