Lethbridge City Council approves 2 new affordable housing projects
Global News
With the deadline for the province's Affordable Housing Partnership Program approaching, Lethbridge city council approved two new affordable housing projects.
The need for housing options in Lethbridge was back in the spotlight Tuesday, as city council approved two new affordable housing projects that were passed at the committee level just hours before.
In July, the province announced the Affordable Housing Partnership Program (AHPP), a funding opportunity that would provide eligible applicants with up to one-third of the total affordable project cost.
With the AHPP deadline on Oct. 16 fast approaching, city officials felt the need to work quickly.
City of Lethbridge Housing Solutions Coordinator, Matthew Pitcher, said in the future they hope to look for better opportunities to prepare those types of submissions.
“We’re putting in the time and effort to make these projects a reality and we want to put our best foot forward because this is really, as councilor Crowson said, a housing crisis on a national level,” said Pitcher.
“It’s not just Lethbridge that is experiencing this; this is across the entire country.”
The first project to go before council and SPC came from Streets Alive Mission, with an ask of $850,000 to purchase and renovate the property on 925 15 Street S for a supportive recovery housing.
The organization shared it’s already been renting the property with an existing 16 beds for the past four years, for its Exodus Men’s Recovery Program, a step-by-step program promoting abstinence-based recovery and providing a stable home-like environment.