By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Premier Doug Ford came to Cobourg Monday to announce up to $25-million for the town to help its waste-water system and water mains to ensure Cobourg has the infrastructure it needs as it grows.
A rainy morning had left the site on Trails View Avenue a field of mud, but the weather cleared in time to put down loads of gravel and a number of plywood boards adjacent to the dozens of new homes being built by Tribute Communities in the town’s northeast end.
Mayor Lucas Cleveland said that the town is poised to become the next-largest urban centre east of the GTA on the Highway 401 corridor.
The construction going on in that area (which has necessitated a three-week shutdown of Brook Road North to install the required infrastructure and road widening to accommodate it) is the result of the secondary growth plan Cobourg council passed 20 years ago to (it was said at the time) increase the town’s population by 25% on these 1,400 acres. Cleveland thanked town staff for their years of hard work to see it through.
“These communities behind you don’t appear because we wish them to. They appear because there is infrastructure supporting that growth,” said Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini (who also serves as Minister of Labour).
“Today’s announcement is one of our largest infrastructure investments in modern history in our community, and it will support growing homes.”
The province’s job market is strong, Piccini said, not only with great manufacturing jobs available but an increased focus on the trades – the recent trade fair in Cobourg for both students and workers, for example.
And these workers need homes for their families.
“David’s an absolute champion down at Queen’s Park,” Ford said, adding that he enjoys visiting construction sites, seeing the shovels in the ground and the homes being built.
“Cobourg, like so many communities across the province, is growing fast, putting the dream of home ownership within range of more people.”
Ford mentioned a $3-billion investment in housing by enabling infrastructure projects, including $1.-billion for water systems. In the first round of investment, $970-million will help build more than 500,000 homes across 60 municipalities.
This means homes for “new graduates and young families looking to build their future here in Cobourg.”
This is part of $100-billion to be spent in supporting infrastructure, widening Highway 401, expanding GO service to Bowmanville, and investments in health care that include 270 new and upgraded long-term-care beds in Cobourg.
“We are building the homes, the hospitals, schools, roads and highways, and other critical infrastructure Cobourg needs to attract investment and new people,” Ford said.
“Come here with your family, take a look at some of these homes. Hopefully you’ll buy one.”
Press Release
Ontario Helping Build More Homes in Cobourg
Province investing up to $25 million in infrastructure to enable more than 2,200 homes
September 23, 2024
COBOURG — The Ontario government is investing up to $25 million in water infrastructure to help enable the construction of 2,266 new homes in the Town of Cobourg. The funding is being delivered through the first round of investments under the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, which includes $970 million to help municipalities develop, repair, rehabilitate and expand drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure that will enable the construction of more homes.
“We’re working with our municipal partners here in Cobourg and across Ontario to get more homes built faster,” said Premier Doug Ford. “With billions of dollars in investments in housing-enabling infrastructure, our government is helping get more shovels in the ground to keep the dream of homeownership alive and help more families across Ontario find a home that meets their needs and their budgets.”
The Town of Cobourg will use the funding to expand its wastewater system and watermains to deliver clean water to residents in the community. The project will support the development of the Cobourg East Community Secondary Plan area, unlocking more homes and supporting economic growth.
“By investing in drinking water and wastewater distribution systems and connecting pipes to land, we are helping municipalities build 511,000 new homes through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, including more than 2,200 homes through this project here in Cobourg,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “Building Ontario means building more homes and homes can’t be built without sustainable water systems in place.”
In response to the significant demand for investments in drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure to enable the construction of more homes and after consulting with municipalities, the government is allocating an additional $250 million to the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund. This brings Ontario’s total investment in the fund to $1.2 billion, and the province is currently accepting a second round of applications through the fund. Under the second intake, $120 million will be reserved for projects in small, rural and northern municipalities without housing targets.
“Homes do not appear overnight – they require the right water and wastewater services that build these homes, and support the communities they’re situated in,” said David Piccini, Member of Provincial Parliament for Northumberland—Peterborough South. “This $25 million investment through Ontario’s Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund will enable us to build a stronger Cobourg with nearly 2,300 additional homes – that’s 2,300 more residents and families who will be able to realize the dream of homeownership.”
In this year’s budget, Ontario announced more than $1.8 billion in housing-enabling infrastructure funding through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund and the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, in addition to the province’s Building Faster Fund, which rewards municipalities for progress toward their housing targets.
Quick Facts
- Details about the second application intake and eligibility for the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund are available at ontario.ca/watersystemsfund. The second intake will provide an additional $250 million in funding.
- $120 million from the Building Faster Fund that was reserved for small, rural and northern communities is being flowed to these communities through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund.
- Ontario is also now accepting applications for funding under the $400 million Housing-Enabling Core Servicing stream of the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program to build, maintain and repair core assets such as municipal roads, bridges and culverts that will enable the construction of new homes. More information about the program and how to apply is available at ontario.ca/housinginfrastructure.
- Investing in key local infrastructure through programs like the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund and the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program is part of the province’s capital plan of over $190 billion to build critical infrastructure and get more homes built faster to support growing communities and lay a strong foundation for future generations.
