By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Habitat For Humanity Northumberland Executive Director Meaghan Macdonald addressed the committee-of-the-whole meeting of Cobourg council Monday to request the donation of a piece of land – so that the house that has been donated to the program can be set on a permanent site and repurposed as a Habitat home for a qualifying family.
Since 1998, Macdonald told council, they have supported 60 families in their quest for home ownership, and 38 of those homes are in Cobourg. Of the two homes currently under construction, one is in Cobourg and one is in Hamilton Township.
Other Habitat programs help qualifying families with repairs to their homes, and even assistance in furnishing them through their ReStore. These supports helped 55 local families in 2020, she said.
Now the owners of 277 College St. have offered to donate their home for relocation, and even to help with relocation costs. Macdonald requested the town to donate a portion of the vacant lot to the west of 600 Daintry Cres. – or at least to identify another suitable piece of land to donate as the site of another Habitat home.
There is a timeline to the request, she added. The donors want to get the project started by spring, with all permits in place. And by the end of the year, they want the house relocated – to its new permanent location or at least to some temporary location pending final placement.
Councillor Nicole Beatty made a motion to refer the request to planning-and-development staff – who are currently working on a municipal-lands inventory – with a report back by Dec. 6.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
