Housing Hub Issues Call for Rural Development
SAINT JOHN — A new strategic initiative aimed at providing affordable housing in rural New Brunswick, kicked off operations on Wednesday, with an announcement at the Multicultural Association of Sussex.
The Housing Hub, a $1.6 million rural housing initiative launched last November, has started its mandate by introducing its chief development officer and announcing its first request for expression of interest for a new pilot project to build rentals in the province.
“Our mission is to partner to drive affordable housing solutions across the province, and our vision is to have an adequate, affordable housing supply for all,” says Alex LeBlanc president and CEO of the New Brunswick Business Council, a partner in the Housing Hub.
The Rapid Rural Workforce pilot project aims to develop 220 housing units in at least four rural communities across the province, with the aim of delivering them by April 2025. The request says that units shall be in both purpose-built rental and other affordable home ownership models (ones that would not require permanent residency in order to enter into a contract).
“Any stakeholders who want to build affordable housing across the province…nonprofits, builders, architects, developers, whoever you are…this is a call if you have a project that’s already out there and need some help getting it together,” says Mylène Vincent, the newly announced chief development officer of Housing Hub.
The “unprecedented population growth” in New Brunswick over the past several years, due mainly to immigration, spurred the need for the Housing Hub, Vincent says.
Maura McKinnon, executive director of the New Brunswick Multicultural Association which also partnered in the creation of Housing Hub, says the new organization will “enable newcomers and members of the multicultural community to fully participate in society”.
“The Housing Hub project will help address the critical shortage of housing in rural areas and ensure that newcomers, and all New Brunswickers, have a place to call home,” McKinnon says. “[It] will boost the economy of New Brunswick by creating jobs in the construction industry and related sectors. We know there are newcomers who are skilled tradespeople in our province now.”
“The housing shortage is not just a big city issue,” says minister for women’s equality Tammy Scott Wallace. “Achieving the goal of more housing inventory is going to help in so many other ways by supporting workforce development. Making it easier for people to stay in their hometowns to work and raise their families, making it easier for newcomers to settle in these smaller communities and easier for employers to find the workers they need to stay competitive.”
The housing shortage and the worker shortage go hand in hand says JD Irving vice president of government relations, Christopher MacDonald.
“It’s been a big challenge for our company as well as others across the province. Whether it’s Chipman, Kedgwick, Saint Leonard, Sussex, we do bring a lot of newcomers into the province as a result we have to have housing for them. This has been a massive challenge for us for the last number of years.”
He says JDI could also help provide solutions to the push to build new quality housing in a timely manner.
“We have a modular builder, Kent Homes in Bouctouche. There’s an opportunity for all modular builders across the province. There’s an opportunity for all stick builders across the province. I think we’re going to need everybody to contribute because we are so far behind in housing, whether it’s urban or rural.”
Multicultural Association of Sussex executive director Bridget Ryan added some financial perspective to the plight of newcomers to the province looking for a place to live.
“In the last fiscal year MAS welcomed 181 newcomer residents to the Sussex area alone, and all indicators lead us to believe that 2023 will be an even busier year,” she says.
The median income for newcomers to the region is between $30,000 and $50,000, with most waiting 2-3 months to find an apartment, Ryan says.
“At this time 90 per cent of our clients are not living in affordable or adequate housing.”
“Housing is a basic human right, it’s not just a matter of convenience,” says Sussex mayor Mark Thorne who expressed gratitude at the turnout from the housing development community at the event. “They care about this community, they want to do more. They want to do better and they want to be part of the solution.”
Alex Graham is a Huddle reporter in Saint John. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].