Former Bathurst mill land approved for modular housing for homeless people

A temporary zoning change to allow up to 40 modular housing units on the former Smurfit-Stone property in Bathurst has been approved by the city's planning advisory committee.

The units will provide shelter for residents who are homeless or precariously housed and will be run by the Chaleur Regional Service Commission.

“That was the last of the big administrative hurdles that led to the development of this project,” said Jennifer Pitre, director of community development with the commission.

"So now we can really move forward with purchasing these pods and getting things operational on site."

Between 28 and 40 modular units will be placed on the site for one year. The exact number depends on the cost of the units, Pitre said.

“We're waiting for the proposals to come back to determine how much they're going to cost individually. … In a perfect world, we'll be able to get all 40."

The precise designs will depend on the proposals the commission receives, but the units will be pre-fabricated, each with at least a bed, desk and its own entry. Some configurations include a washroom in each unit, while others have shared washrooms.

The Chaleur Regional Service Commission currently operates a 10-bed shelter in Bathurst, which will close once the modular units open on the former mill property.

Pitre said that shelter is full every night. The most recent count found that about 40 chronically homeless people were living on the street in the northern New Brunswick city, and another 40 were "extremely precariously housed."

Once the new development is up and running, at least two staff will be on site at all times, offering wraparound services such as counselling and helping people work toward long-term housing options.

“We'll have residential support workers, people who can connect the clients to the community, resources for people who are looking to work on a housing plan and then find sustainable housing for themselves,” Pitre said. “That’ll all be available on site.”

Bathurst Mayor Kim Chamberlain said she’s seen the population of homeless people in the area grow significantly in the past five or so years.

“Homelessness is definitely a file, where in 2021 we barely had any. And today, we are in this situation,” Chamberlain said.

“We did not have a lot of the homeless encampments, or sleeping in tents. But it's the reality, you know, cost of living and everything else that has increased.”