Construction begins on new affordable housing development in NW Calgary

Ground has broke on a new affordable housing development in the northwest Calgary community of Mount Pleasant.

The 16-home mixed-income development will be built on the site of the former St. Joseph School and is expected to serve up to 45 residents.

Construction is scheduled to be finished next summer, and residents should be able to move it shortly after.

“I am proud of the Calgary Housing team for how quickly we are able to develop these 16 affordable homes in Mount Pleasant,” Calgary Housing President and CEO Sarah Woodgate said. “Six months after signing a funding agreement with The City of Calgary to develop this parcel, we had crews starting work here. And in a year’s time, up to 45 new residents will be moving in.”

The city says the project is designed to visually fit into the neighbourhood, using high quality materials that need less maintenance.

The homes will also feature sustainable design elements, including above-and-beyounf energy saving measures, as well as solar panels and cold climate air source heat pumps with natural gas back-ups.

City officials say the homes are located near an existing playground and dog park, blocks away from schools and the commercial corridors on 16 Avenue NW and Centre Street NW.

“Calgary Housing’s Mount Pleasant affordable housing development is an important part of addressing the city’s housing crisis as part of Calgary’s Housing Strategy,” Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said. “Affordable housing makes sure no one is left behind in our great city, and the mixed-income model is a fiscally responsible way to operate that housing.”

The Mount Pleasant affordable housing project will use Calgary Housing’s mixed-income model. Rents just below market rates help to cover more deeply affordable rents and fund maintenance costs, reducing or even eliminating the need for operating funding from governments.

This mix improves financial viability and sustainability of operations, according to the city, while allowing tenants of different incomes to live side-by-side as neighbours. Households are then better supported with stable housing as their situation changes.

The $7.9 million construction budget includes $3.7 million in contributions from the Province of Alberta and $1.5 million from the Affordable Housing Partnership Program, a joint funding from the province and the Government of Canada.