City land sale for affordable housing to provide 165 units

City officials have approved the sale of six land parcels for affordable housing, the largest such transaction on record.

The below-market-value land transfers in Forest Lawn, Hillhurst-Sunnyside, Albert Park/ Radisson Heights and downtown are expected to provide space for 165 units to house low-income Calgarians.

Habitat for Humanity, the HomeSpace Society and Homes for Heroes Foundation will oversee construction of the homes that Mayor Naheed Nenshi said will address needs such as economic growth, safer communities and reduced reliance on emergency services.

“Affordable housing is really underpinning so many of these things because investments in affordable housing are investments in more vibrant communities,” Nenshi said of the deals in partnership with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

“Investments in affordable housing are among the best investments a city can make.”

Homes for Heroes, in conjunction with the Mustard Seed, provides housing for military veterans.

The three non-profit groups will now go through the required permitting process and community engagement before construction begins.

The city chose the groups due to their track record in building such homes, said Sarah Woodgate, president of Calgary Housing Company.

“What we’re looking for is to scale up non-profits in Calgary so we can have an increase in (housing) supply,” she said.

Calgary is lagging behind other Canadian cities in its per capita supply of affordable rental homes and needs to build 15,000 of them to match ratios elsewhere, the Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF) has said.

There are more than 3,200 homeless people in Calgary and 15,000 households that are financially vulnerable to losing the roof over their heads, say anti-poverty advocates.

In the past decade, the CHF said $431 million in taxpayer funds have been spent in a bid to end homelessness in Calgary by 2018.