London is getting $74M to tackle the housing crisis. Here's what the mayor wants to do with it
CBC
London, Ont. mayor Josh Morgan laid out his ideas for spending the $74 million being given to the city by the federal government for housing .
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that London will receive the money as part of the Housing Accelerator Fund in exchange for the city's agreement to pursue a series of measures — including a change to local zoning rules that should make it easier to build more rental units.
The city was projected to build 9,400 units over the next three years, but with the influx of cash they're moving it up to 11,600, said Morgan.
There are four areas that he identified as key investments to help tackle the housing crisis within the city with the money:
The Housing Accelerator Fund was first announced during the Liberal's 2021 election campaign and introduced in the 2022 federal budget. It allocates $4 billion in funding until 2026-27 to build new homes in cities.
Reviewing the process to apply for building permits and identifying inefficiencies is high on Morgan's list. He said analyzing where in the process applicants are being held up and how the city can keep that from happening will help fast-track the process.
"This isn't just about building new homes, it's about building new homes faster," Morgan said.
Continuing to invest in affordable housing units like the buildings at 403 Thompson Road, 345 Sylvan Street, 18 Elm Street and Joan's Place on Dundas is also a piece of the puzzle.
This will be done through partnerships with local non-profits and the building sector, something he said worked in the past. Morgan added they also need to increase the number of market-rate rental units in the city.
"We have thousands of people coming to this city for jobs or moving away from even higher cost jurisdictions like the GTA so we have tremendous pressure on our market here — it's also a supply issue," he said.
AUDIO | London taps into federal funding for more affordable homes
Another limiting factor he said they're tackling is that some parts of the city don't have the proper infrastructure to support new housing. For example, areas around Fanshawe College don't have the sewer capacity to handle more units being built to house the influx of international students.
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