Program could spur development of affordable housing, mixed-income neighbourhoods, Winnipeg councillors told

A new City of Winnipeg program could help create more affordable, mixed-income neighbourhoods by making it easier for non-profits and developers to access housing funding, city councillors heard Friday.

"We want to create communities that are complete, equitable and affordable," rather than a city where "people with certain incomes are living in these areas and people of higher incomes live in other areas," City of Winnipeg housing co-ordinator Noah Yauk said during a meeting of council's housing steering committee.

"We need to create a mix where all of our neighbourhoods and buildings, as much as possible, can have a range of income."

The Affordable Housing Now program would make it easier for certain projects to get federal funding, including from the Rapid Housing Initiative. That funding program was launched by the federal government in 2020 in an effort to quickly bring new affordable housing onto the market.

In order for a development project to be eligible for the new program, at least 30 per cent of its rental units would have be offered at 80 per cent of the median market rent or less, according to a report prepared for the city's executive policy committee.

The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Winnipeg is $1,317, according to a February report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

"We've been beneficiaries of two rounds of RHI funding in the city of Winnipeg, and that relationship with the federal government and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is strong," Fort-Rouge East Fort Garry Coun. Sherri Rollins, a member of the housing steering committee, said in an interview Friday.

"[The program will] make sure that we're leveraging all we can and working with community-based organizations that ultimately draw down this money to the City of Winnipeg through housing projects."

The project includes $2 million in federal grants to offset construction costs and $50 million in tax increment financing. It would favour non-profit projects, as well as downtown construction.

Yauk said the program would help End Homelessness Winnipeg reach its housing goals. He said it could also help existing housing organizations get funding they may not otherwise secure.

"One thing we're very cognizant of in Winnipeg is there's a lot of housing providers, but they're not as experienced in development and going through approval. We're really aware there's a gap there that needs to be addressed," he said.

"With the funding, you need somebody who can help these organizations through that process, and it becomes very complicated. So we're looking at ways to get more support."

The program will up for debate at council's executive policy committee meeting next Wednesday. Council would need to sign off on the program before it becomes official.