Metropolis of Calgary’s utility for Housing Accelerator Fund authorised

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Calgary will obtain a yet-to-be-disclosed quantity of federal funding for brand new housing builds after town’s utility to the Housing Accelerator Fund was authorised.

In a letter, federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser knowledgeable Mayor Jyoti Gondek on Sept. 21 that town’s utility to this system was profitable.

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His letter comes after metropolis council voted in favour of a brand new seven-year housing technique on Sept. 16 — a plan that intends to spice up town’s market and non-market housing provide by loosening residential zoning restrictions to permit for extra density and accelerating affordable-housing tasks.

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“I stay up for additional engagement with Calgarians main as much as a public listening to course of, the place council will decide associated to any proposed land-use modifications initiated by the approval of the housing technique.”

Housing advocates applaud ‘nice information’

The Housing Accelerator Fund is a brand new $4-billion federal program geared toward incentivizing Canadian cities to construct extra high-density housing, with a goal of constructing 100,000 new middle-class properties by 2024-25.

London, Ont., was the primary metropolis to learn from this system, receiving $74 million for the event of two,000 properties.

Neither Fraser’s nor Gondek’s places of work disclosed how a lot funding Calgary will obtain, stating the greenback determine is confidential till formally introduced.

Regardless, housing advocates in Calgary applauded the information Thursday, together with Kathryn Davies, the co-founder of Extra Neighbours Calgary, a grassroots group that advocates for extra various housing varieties.

“It was nice information for us, however extra so it’s nice information for Calgary,” she stated. “I feel it’s develop into an increasing number of clear that our housing state of affairs is bordering on catastrophic.

“I feel all ranges of presidency have been dragging their toes on this for a really very long time, and it’s thrilling to see some motion on it.”