With Needs Rising, N.B. Town Offers $1 Lots For Affordable Housing Development
MINTO–A former New Brunswick mining village is hopeful its offer of $1 lots in a time of rising property values will entice enough developers to bring between six and ten affordable homes to the community.
Erica Barnett, mayor of the Village of Minto, said the project is a response to the growing trend of people looking for more affordable housing in the village over the last three to four years.
“It’s been something on my horizon and council’s horizon since we got elected, so it’s really nice to see it moving forward finally,” said Barnett.
“It’s been difficult to find rental units in the village and it’s actually caused people to leave.”
Noticing that trend, municipal staff conducted a survey of local housing needs around the end of 2019. Barnett said the results were alarming but showed the extent of the problem.
Municipal staff received 40 responses from individuals, families, seniors, and newcomers, all searching for accommodations. Some were village residents at the time, and some were trying to move to the community of about 2,300 near Fredericton.
“That kind of made us put our boots on the ground and come up with a solution for it,” she said.
Response
While she was unable to disclose the names of any developers, Barnett said that in the few weeks the RFP has been out, she’s heard from numerous developers.
“Day one was almost overwhelming with an influx of emails and people looking for information on the RFP, asking a lot of questions. I’m excited to see what offers we have by the closing date,” she said.
The RFP period closes at the end of February.
Come-From-Aways
Barnett said an influx of residents from out of province encouraged her and council to move on the initiative. In particular, many Ontarians have been moving to Minto and buying properties.
“Properties are selling for more than they did three years ago, and we’re noticing that now,” she said. “There’s a need for housing, because a lot of those properties that were sold were rentals, and now people have limited places to go.”
Many in the community are employed by J.D. Irving, owner of the Gran Lake Timber Sawmill up the road in Chipman, the TRACC Tire Recycling plant, and Cloud5 Communications.
Coal mining, formerly a major driver of local employment, ended when the former NB Power-owned Grand Lake Generating Station closed in 2010 with the expiry of its operating license.
With its proximity to Fredericton, many who live in Minto commute a little more than half an hour to the provincial capital for work.
Housing
Barnett would like to see a mix of single-family houses and apartments developed on the nine acres of land near village limits that is walking distance from the local businesses and amenities. She hopes to see shovels in the ground by spring 2022.
If there’s enough developer interest, Barnett said the village will consider setting aside land for more.
“It’s a large piece of property, so there’s lots of room to grow as time goes on,” she said.
The project is similar to one rolled in 2019 by the village of McAdam, which sold 16 lots for $1 each.
“We saw McAdam’s initiative and watched it unfold. We spoke to the mayor and clerk about the outcome and the success, and what they learned from the project – and we certainly appreciated their feedback and went with it from there,” said Barnett.
“We’re looking forward to the tenders and seeing what’s going to work for the community.”
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].