Canadian Mental Health Association proposes new, subsidized housing in Sudbury

Work is underway to repurpose a former school site into subsidized housing near downtown Sudbury.

The Canadian Mental Health Association is in the process of acquiring a property on Lourdes Street from the city to create a new four storey apartment building.

Karen Henze, manager of community development and housing, says the property will go for zoning in January. After that, construction will start on the new building.

She says the first two floors would consist of pods: kitchen-living areas connected to several bedrooms intended for people who are chronically homeless. The other two floors will be rent-geared-to-income apartment units.

"So when we were developing the idea around what our building would look like we thought it was really important to have a mix of housing that meets different needs," she said.

"They would have their own bedroom but they would be sharing a living environment. What we have found is that sometimes people who are transitioning out of homelessness are very disconnected, socially and from the community and also from their family so moving into an apartment alone can be very isolating and challenging."

Henze says there will be no time limit on how long people can rent the units.

"But the expectation would be that people would be transitioning into independent living," she said.

Consultation expected at a later date

This is the second time the association has attempted to develop this site. A few years ago, the association was looking at building a shelter and harm reduction home on that property.

"Certainly, the community expressed they weren't interested in the shelter being located there," she said.

Henze says consultations have not been done yet in the neighbourhood on this project. She says that's expected to happen when the zoning application moves forward.

"It's going through the very same process as a developer would go through when they're building an apartment building," she said.