The mayor of St. Catharines said the approved sale of surplus land to be turned into affordable housing is a “big deal” for the city.
On Monday, Council authorized the sale of approximately 3.8 acres of city-owned land on 230 Geneva St. for $1.35 million to Penn Terra Group Ltd.
“This was city property that the council had decided, instead of just surplussing it and putting it on to the market, that we were going to come up with a creative way to address a housing crisis here in our community,” Walter Sendzik said in an interview on Morning Live on Thursday.
The development will include one, nine-storey building with 180 rental units and one, four-storey building with 32, two-bedroom townhouses.
The affordable housing portion of the site will consist of the 32 townhouses, which will be sold at 10 per cent below the average purchase price of a resale unit in the regional market area, and 60 rental units rented at 80 per cent of average market rents for a unit in the regional market area.
Average market rents are based on annual enumerations within the local housing market as conducted by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Three community gardens and 19,000 square feet of commercial space could be developed on the site as well.
Sendzik said he hopes surrounding cities will also consider using their surplus land to address the housing crisis.
Construction could begin as early as May 2023 pending development approvals.
