The Antigonish Affordable Housing Society is excited for the possibility of a new community.
The proposed Sugarloaf Community is expected to have 130 units built by 2028 on land that was donated.
Board Chair, Colleen Cameron says, “There is a need in this community for affordable housing, and we’ve also heard from businesses and services that they’re having trouble with workers finding a place to live.”
She says they’re currently looking for funding for the $65 million project from all levels of government, potential private financing from larger banks, and community capital campaign fundraising.
Their vision is to be socially, environmentally and financially sustainable, shares Cameron.
They plan on having community rooms for social gatherings and solar panels to help lower electricity costs.
Municipality of the County of Antigonish, Warden Nicholas MacInnis shared with us why affordable housing matters in Antigonish.
“It provides shelter, a place to raise families, a place where people can put their roots down. It’s also one of the largest single costs for individuals and families is, so making sure it’s affordable is quite important,” he expressed.
He says 25 per cent is expected to be market value rentals, while the remaining 75 per cent will be affordable, including deeply affordable which would be rented out at 40 per cent of the market rate.
