By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
The Board of Trinity Housing of Cobourg Phase 2 has announced an agreement to transfer ownership in an arrangement which will enable construction and operation of new affordable units at 321 John St. to Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services.
Over the past several years, Trinity Housing has pursued an initiative to build 27 new units of affordable and market-rent housing at this location, adjacent to the existing 20-unit Trinity Place site.
This development “now requires more mature project management capabilities to ensure financial and schedule expectations are met.” For this reason, Trinity has decided to sell this build project to deliver the affordable housing units as per their mission, Board Chair Gordon Robins reiterated this commitment in their press release.
“The board has determined that the best course of action to fulfill this vision is to conclude THCP2’s role in the development of this new apartment complex at the design phase, and transfer this project to an alternate housing provider with similar vision and interests.”
Robins expressed confidence that Ontario Aboriginal Housing, with its 30-year history of delivering safe and affordable housing throughout the province, has “the necessary resources to oversee the construction phase and, ultimate, the operation of these new units.
“We are very proud of the THCP2 board for their foresight and resilience in taking this initiative from concept to design. And we are pleased to be working with Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services to ensure successful next steps,” he said.
“They will carry forward the next phase of planning, and begin construction based on the design to deliver this important asset for the community.”
Ontario Aboriginal Housing operates 3,300 housing units in across Ontario, with a mandate to provide safe and affordable housing to urban and rural First Nation, Inuit and Metis people living off-reserve. This service is delivered to some 11,000 Indigenous and non-Indigenous tenants, ensuring suitable housing for low- and moderate-income families and individuals.
“At OAHS, we believe every person deserves the dignity of safe, affordable housing,” Director of Housing Development Cathy Connor stated.
“Thanks to THCP2’s leadership initiating this project and their stewardship of its progress, we are in an excellent position to move to construction in the very near future.
“We are looking forward to completing this build and realizing the shared goal of increasing the availability of affordable housing for all Northumberland residents.”
