The units will be built alongside 500 condos as part of the city’s 20-20-20 bylaw.
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There appears to be momentum towards creating more affordable and social housing in the city for those living on the margins, Montreal’s mayor said Monday.
Speaking at an announcement for the creation of at least 94 social housing units in the eastern sector of Lachine, Valérie Plante said while there appears to be more housing units currently in the pipeline, it will take several years of sustained projects in order to alleviate a generational housing crisis.
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“Of course I’d like to give you the specific date and time and hour when it will be solved, but I don’t have this ability because I’m not the only person in charge of finding solutions, but there is momentum,” Plante said. “There is political will with the federal and provincial governments and also within the city, and today demonstrates that even the builders get it. They’re part of the solution.”
The project announced on Monday is part of a 600-unit development being planned in Lachine East. It is the first project to take advantage of provisions in the recently enacted Bill 31, which works to alleviate the housing crisis. According to that law, municipalities with more than 10,000 people and a vacancy rate of less than three per cent can bypass urban planning rules for buildings with at least three units. Municipalities can also deviate from their rules for projects that are mainly composed of subsidized or affordable housing.
The 94 housing units — comprised of one to three bedrooms — will be built alongside 500 condo units across the street as part of the city’s 20-20-20 law that requires 20 per cent of a project be composed of social housing units. Plante said it is one of the first times the law was used to build within the same project. Usually, developers will instead pay a fee that goes to the city and is reserved towards building housing.
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“It shows that our bylaw for a mixed metropolis is yielding results,” Plante said. “Everyone agrees that we need to build more and faster, but we also need to protect the (mixed housing aspect) and for that, I need everyone to be part of it, including builders.”
Last month, the federal and provincial governments announced a total of 763 social and affordable housing units to be built in the Montreal area. The city is also in the midst of selling off the former îlot Voyageur bus terminal at Berri St. and De Maisonneuve Blvd. to be converted into 700 housing units, in hopes that many of them will be affordable and social.
The city is also working to build 10,000 social and affordable housing units at the site of the old Hippodrome, and is insisting that there be a heavy component of non-speculative housing in Lachine East, Bridge Bonaventure, the Radio-Canada tower and the old Molson Brewery. Each of those projects would yield thousands of social housing units.
Plante warned, however, it will be years before these projects can make an impact. Until then, the city is preparing for yet another July 1 Moving Day when people will be left without homes.
“I know it’s tough for people who don’t know right now where they are going to go in July, or how much they will have to pay,” Plante said. “I want to tell them we are looking at all the options and we are there in the short term, but also in the long term for Montreal.”
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