Board Chair Phil St-Jean and Vice Chair Brad Nieman reported on the corporation’s activities at the March 24th Council meeting. 

“We’re starting to feel that excitement that things are finally happening,” Councillor St-Jean said. 

The Corporation’s first housing development at 30 Disraeli Street will enter construction in April, with occupancy expected before the end of the year. It will have 8 units, three of which will be affordable, defined as 30 percent of average household income.

“The best we can do at this point is 3 affordables and 5 full market,” Councillor St-Jean said. “You can’t build affordable and attainable housing without somebody subsidizing it.”

The development at 230 Niles Street experienced delays due to extensive soil remediation required to receive record of site condition from the Ministry of the Environment. The site is now set to head into construction in the first quarter of 2027, with occupancy that year. 

The Corporation is in talks with the Wellington Storehouse Foodbank about a leased space.

Niles Street will add 36 units to the County’s portfolio. The ratio of affordable to market units will depend on the success of grant applications.

The Affordable Housing Corporation (PECAHC)  has fought to receive funding from upper levels of government, often to no avail.

“We’ve had a couple of successes and a lot of struggles,” Councillor St-Jean noted. 

CMHC provided predevelopment funding for both sites, $180,000 for Niles Street and $100,000 for Disraeli Street. In both cases, the funding was 80 percent grant and 20 percent repayable loan. 

While CMHC denied subsequent applications, it recently released a list of approved private lenders for municipalities and non-profits. 

A working group is also pursuing grants for both development sites from Build Canada Homes, the federal government’s new agency for affordable housing financing.

“We’re hoping that we can then use that grant money to wipe out the mortgage and allow us to raise the level of affordable units, with a target goal, of course, of 100 percent,” Councillor St-Jean told the Gazette.

The Corporation is following Build Canada Homes’ recommendation of modular construction, which brings costs down by 40 percent. 

Solar panels and heat pumps at the Disraeli Street development will keep operational costs low.

The first steps toward PECAHC began in 2011, when the County began to formally examine its affordable housing needs. The organization was established as an independent non-profit in 2019, and a municipal services corporation in 2023.

“The mandate is to pursue affordable housing through owning and operating or public-private partnership,” Councillor Nieman explained. It is supported by one staff member, Affordable Housing Supervisor Elis Ziegler. 

Council budgeted $250,000 in 2019 and 2020. That was lowered to $135,00 in 2021 and 2022. Since then, no additional funds have been allocated to PECAHC from the municipal budget. 

Still, Councillor Chris Braney echoed community criticism that the corporation isn’t delivering on its promises fast enough. 

“I think County residents are getting very impatient,” he said. “I had a resident tell me the other day that if we had just saved that money the municipality invested, we could have bought four or five houses by now.”

But Councillor St-Jean noted that from land acquisition to construction, Disraeli Street is just under the average timeline of 56 months for medium residential development. 

“It does take time,” he said. “That’s normal.”

“$770,000 does not buy four houses,” Councillor Nieman added. “The corporation has not been back to Council to ask for any additional funding.”

Next, Councillor St-Jean plans to approach Bay of Quinte MP Chris Malette. 

“Hopefully he can understand what our real needs are and he can go to bat for us.”