Coming to Market: deeply affordable housing

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This article was published 18/04/2024 (537 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Low-income Winnipeggers could pay as little as $285 a month to enjoy a new studio apartment in the Exchange District, thanks to an investment aimed at supplying deeply affordable housing.

New funding for the $55-million Market Lands project will ensure roughly half its housing units are offered at rents geared to their tenants’ income levels.

“We will be providing an ongoing contribution to ensure that 48 of the 95 units are deeply affordable, rent-geared-to-income units. These social housing units are in addition to what we committed to in Budget 2024 … (one step toward) making possible our commitment to ending chronic homelessness in the next two terms,” said Housing Minister Bernadette Smith.

The province expects to spend about $575,000 per year to further reduce rents on units that were previously earmarked to be affordable, though the amount will fluctuate based on tenant income levels. The Manitoba government will also provide a “forgivable loan” of up to $1.8 million to help build the nine-storey, mixed-use Market Lands building.

The 48 units were previously slated for rents pegged at 59 per cent of the median market rate, while remaining tenants will pay market rates.

The project’s key developer said the deepened affordability will help those living on the lowest incomes.

“In many instances, it would provide a lifeline to individuals and families that would otherwise be facing housing insecurity and homelessness,” said Jeremy Read, chief executive officer of the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation 2.0.

“We will be providing an ongoing contribution to ensure that 48 of the 95 units are deeply affordable, rent-geared-to-income units. These social housing units are in addition to what we committed to in Budget 2024”–Housing Minister Bernadette Smith

For example, a rent-geared-to-income studio or one-bedroom apartment in the building could be rented for as little as $285 per month, depending on the tenant’s income, while a two-bedroom could have a rent as low as $387, said Read. That’s down from the previous affordable rate of $489 per studio, $615 per one-bedroom and $818 per two-bedroom. Market rents at the same site will start at $1,025 for a studio apartment, $1,468 for a one-bedroom and $1,674 for a two-bedroom.

There will be no difference between the apartment units set aside for lower rents and those with market rent rates, Read said.

A local housing advocate said the “deeply affordable” rents are desperately needed, arguing some housing units labelled “affordable” by governments are still far too expensive for low-income residents.

“We know that we have a need for 10,000 more rent-geared-to-income housing units, so exactly these types of units (are needed) in Manitoba right now,” said Kirsten Bernas, chair of the Right to Housing coalition’s provincial working group.

“It’s all about … who is it affordable to? Those rents (on many affordable projects) are going to be affordable for some higher-income households but they’re certainly not going to be affordable to people who are relying on employment and income assistance.”

Read said some of the Market Lands units will be provided to newcomers, through an agreement with New Journey Housing. A housing adviser with that organization said access to deeply affordable rents will help many folks who recently moved to Canada and need time to enhance their English skills or education to secure well-paying jobs.

“Finding good, safe, rent-geared-to-income housing can be life-changing for families. I see daily, in my work, (that) supporting newcomers in finding stability in a good home, can make all the difference in their success,” said Azarais Butariho.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham said the mixed-income model bodes well for the downtown.

“We’re really excited to see that people who have various abilities (to pay) for housing will be living together in a development that is beautiful and transformative and meets some of the growing housing needs that we have across the city,” said Gillingham.

The City of Winnipeg previously approved a $2.5-million downtown recovery grant, waived $2.5 million worth of property taxes and granted a $1 per year land lease to support the Market Lands project.

When asked about plans to develop the remaining northern portion of the site, Gillingham told reporters to “stay tuned.”

The federal government has also provided multiple grants for the project, including $27.4 million from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

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Read said the project relies largely on government funding, a Federation of Canadian Municipalities grant and about $19 million of loans.

The 92,730-square-foot building is expected to open in January 2026 and include a three-storey creative hub, along with the residential tower, at the site of the former Public Safety Building.

The net-zero building will have a façade built almost entirely of solar panels.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.