N.S. helping fund more affordable housing units in Cape Breton
Province providing nearly $3M in forgivable loans for projects in Port Hawkesbury, Arichat
Nova Scotia has announced it is providing nearly $3 million in funding for projects that will add dozens of affordable housing units in the Cape Breton communities of Port Hawkesbury and Arichat.
In a news release Tuesday, the province said DC Developments is constructing 40 new housing units, including 20 affordable units, on Reeves Street in Port Hawkesbury.
The development features a mix of studio and one-bedroom units and is within walking distance of the Nova Scotia Community College Strait Area campus.
The project will cost around $7.82 million, with the province providing more than $2 million in forgivable loans through the Affordable Housing Development Program.
In Arichat, Lennox Place Ltd. is converting a commercial building on Veterans Memorial Drive into residential housing. The project will see the addition of 10 new housing units, nine of which will be affordable.
Total development costs for the conversion project are about $2.1 million, with the province providing $990,000 in forgivable loans.
Speaking from outside the DC Developments project on the outskirts of Port Hawkesbury on Tuesday morning, Growth and Development Minister Colton LeBlanc said housing and economic growth go hand in hand.
"You can't attract doctors, paramedics, nurses, skilled trades people, teachers — people that want to call Nova Scotia home — without having a safe and affordable place for them to call home," said LeBlanc.
"These are truly fundamental issues that impact all of our communities across Nova Scotia and that's why we're doing everything in our control as a government ... to create even more housing even faster."
The province said community housing organizations and private developers can apply for forgivable loans from the Affordable Housing Development Program to help fund the construction of new housing or the conversion of non-residential buildings.