Construction begins on non-market housing development in northwest Calgary
Posted Nov 6, 2024 9:46 am.
Last Updated Nov 6, 2024 7:19 pm.
Another affordable housing project has broke ground in Calgary.
Liberty Housing Organization has begun work on Village Block — a non-market development set to provide 57 affordable rental homes, including 12 accessible units — in the northwest community of Parkdale.
The group, created in 2015, has created nearly 500 affordable homes in Calgary since its inception. Its goal is to deliver 2,500 affordable homes within the next five years.
“Liberty Housing Organization is thrilled to break ground on Village Block,” said Oliver Trutina, Liberty Housing Organization’s Board Chair. “This project marks our shift toward purpose-built rentals and is aligned with our mandate to deliver high quality, affordable housing.
“We are deeply grateful to the City of Calgary for their collaboration, which has been instrumental in bringing this vision to life.”
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says this project addresses the critical need for affordable housing in the city.
“I look forward to seeing the positive impact this development will have on families in our city,” she said.
This project is part of Calgary council’s Non-Market Housing Land Disposition Policy to sell land at book value rather than at market value to non-profit organizations whose priority is to develop affordable housing. The goal is for non-profit housing providers to spend less capital funds on getting the land which frees up more money to be spend on the housing development itself.
Under this round of the Non-Market Land Sale, the city is also giving direct funding of up to $75,000 per unit to Liberty, an additional $4.3 million in funding.