City housing agency takes on 'ambitious' rebuilding plan

The city's subsidized housing agencyplans to spend $63.3 million on a major expansion and renewal of the city's affordable housing inventory.

The plan willrehab 146 old housing units and build 195new ones.

To do that, CityHousing Hamilton will ask city councillors next month to take on $24.6 million in debt toward that total. The yearly payments on that debt is expected to be between $1.2 million and $1.6 million.

The agency projects the developments will bring enough revenue to the city to cover the debt payments.

"It's a very ambitious renewal plan, one of the most ambitious we've seen in the past 30 or 40 years," Coun. Chad Collins said.

Some of the units will be brand-new apartments or townhouses to replace the detached homes the city has been selling off in recent months.

All together across five projects, there will be a total of 45 net new units added to the city's subsidized housing stock.

Two of the sites are currently city-owned parking lots. One is a complete retrofit of the city building at 500 MacNab Street North.

"We're excited about the fact that our tenants are going to have new units to live in," Collins said.

Improving housing for vulnerable residents

There are more than 14,000 people living in the agency's subsidized units, including seniors and people with disabilities.

On average the agency's 7,100 units are older than other housing stock in Hamilton. That brings with it increased bills for maintenance, but there's no corresponding increase in city capital funding, the agency said in a report.

That left the agency with deferred capital bills of $89 million over the last five years.

Here's a list of the five projects the agency wants to revitalize or replace:

• 500 MacNab Street North: retrofit 146 units for a cost of $15.7 million
• 50 Queenston Road: replace 45 units for a cost of $10.1 million
• 106-104 Bay Street North: replace 46 units and build 19 new units for a cost of $17.1 million
• 253 King William Street: replace 14 units and build six new units for a cost of $5.5 million
• 701 Upper Sherman Avenue: replace 45 units and build 20 new units for a cost of $14.95 million