City of St. Catharines to build more than 80 affordable housing units

The City of St. Catharines, along with the Niagara Region and Niagara Regional Housing, have announced plans to build more than 80 units of affordable housing at the site of a former municipal building.

Construction work is underway at 320 Geneva St., which was formerly home to the city’s recreation and community service building.

The city-owned property will be turned into a mixture of Bridge Housing, Niagara Regional Housing affordable housing (townhouses) and land for private market development.

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“It has been a complicated road to get here, but I am confident in Niagara Regional Housing’s ability to quickly build the bridge and affordable housing that our community so desperately needs,” St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe said.

The project is expected to be completed in three stages, with the first stage planned as a four storey building made up of 36 bridge housing units and 12 supportive housing units.

Bridge housing clients are individuals who are chronically homeless. They represent less than 10 per cent of people who access shelter services, but they use almost 40 per cent of available beds.

The City of St. Catharines says building bridge housing will free up shelter beds and mitigate the need to invest further in short-term solutions.

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“By providing a mix of housing options such as supportive housing and affordable rental units, future tenants will be able to find a housing unit that best meets their needs as well as resources designed to assist them with future opportunities,” Niagara Regional Housing Board Chair Gary Zalepa said.

“Once complete, these homes will help to foster a broader sense of community for all future tenants.”

The second phase of the project involves the construction of 36 affordable housing units, while the third phase will see environmental site assessment work and cleanup at the same
time as phase two.

A request for a proposal for construction is expected to be issued early next year, with an anticipated completion date of mid-2025.

There are more than 6,600 applicants for affordable housing in St. Catharines, including over 2400 families.