Big plans

PECAHN puts business plan forward that would see the County donate old arena land

A business plan will be presented to the Committee-of-the-Whole by the Prince Edward County Affordable Housing Network (PECAHN) on June 28 that asks the County to donate the old arena lands in Wellington at Niles and Maple Streets. The goal would be to build affordable and market value homes there, provided the County will not only donate the land but pay to demolish the arena. PECAHN is also asking the County to waive all connection and development fees and any other fees involved for the affordable housing units on the property. It’s a big ask, and one that Barry Davidson estimates will run in the $235,000 range.

As everyone interested in these things know, the County did set aside $250,000 in the budget for affordable housing, so this request would require nearly all the funds that the County has set aside, and it will be tough for the County to put all that money to one place. But on the other hand, $250,000 is barely enough to get one project going, so it’s all going to either go to one big project, or two small ones. Why not start the ball rolling and begin to ease this crisis?

That kind of question is one that Davidson (Twelve Trees Project) and partner Anthony Lemke (Wharf Lane Inc.) will no doubt be putting forward in their presentation on June 28. The business plan calls for the construction of one-third affordable and two-thirds market value homes, with the profit from market value sales subsidizing the affordable homes to keep costs low. PECAHN would be considered the developer and Wharf Lane would be contracted to provide project management services. They are also coming to the table with some important people on their side. Habitat For Humanity (HFH) has a track record that speaks for itself and has proven success in building and developing multiple units. HFH has expressed interest in building two houses in 2019 and two in 2020 as a part of this project and for which they would arrange funding. PECAHN is also hoping that some of the financing for this project would start with community loans for which an interest of four per cent is being considered.

“There are a lot people with varying skillsets looking to donate their time on this project. The support came forward quite quickly. But until we know we have the land, we haven’t done anything yet to flesh out what we are asking of them to do. Once we get approval there will a huge amount of work to be done,” says Davidson.

There will be 27 units in total, with each property having its own parking bay and yard. Units will come detached or semi-detached, and the affordable housing will be interspersed throughout the property’s housing plan. PECAHN is hoping they can get the go-ahead to get sales rolling and start looking for the community loans. The hope would be to open a sales office somewhere on Main Street in Wellington as soon as possible. For every two market value houses that sell, they will make one affordable house. So all it would take to get the momentum rolling would be the sales of two market- value homes in the village of Wellington. With the way houses on the market are being swallowed up in the County, it’s almost a certainty that market value houses will sell. Especially in Wellington where houses rarely sell at market value, but rather a much higher price.

After a few versions, some community feedback and a new name that reflects a more County inclusive-vibe, PECAHN looks to impress on June 28. If everyone is really serious about starting to solve the issue of affordable housing, they will make sure their ears and minds are open to the possibilities, and they are making some moves in that direction. The County recently announced that it will be undertaking a rental vacancy survey as a part of ongoing efforts to expand affordable housing in the County. Over the next several weeks, staff from the County’s Community Development Department will be contacting property owners and managers to administer the survey. Once complete, the municipality will compile the data and report on the findings to council and the public.