St. Marys aims to add 200 new rental units by 2027

The Town of St. Marys is opening doors for new affordable rental housing with the launch of a plan that aims to add 200 new units – 30 of which will be affordable or feasible – to the town’s housing supply by 2027.

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Dubbed Opening Doors: An Attainable Housing Action Plan for the Town of St. Marys, the plan was developed by a housing expert after consultations with developers, builders and community members, and was formally approved by town council in February.

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“We have people working good jobs, earning a decent wage, who can’t find a house or afford rent in St. Marys,” Mayor Al Strathdee said in a press release issued Friday. “That’s a problem. Everyone deserves a place to call home.”

Grant Brouwer, the town’s building and development director, said the plan should foster the development of new rental housing through partnerships with non-profit housing organizations, and by offering incentives and grants to developers and homeowners to include accessory units in new builds or build accessories units on their properties.

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“We’re putting tools in the toolbox to encourage the development community to (build affordable and feasible housing). … Within the community improvement plan, we’re going to allocate funding that entices developers and property owners to put in accessory units. The other side of it is the town is moving ahead with development on town-owned land. One of the partnerships we’re looking to enter into is with Habitat For Humanity to do some of that work,” Brouwer said.

Brouwer said the town has identified three potential housing projects on municipal land. Staff are looking to partner with organizations like Habitat For Humanity, as well as the United Way Perth-Huron’s new United Housing non-profit housing corporation, to see those projects started within the next decade.

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With roughly a quarter of its 2027 attainable housing goal anticipated to be met through the development of one of the planned Habitat For Humanity housing projects, Brouwer said local property owners and developers will be incentivized to make up the remaining roughly 150 rental units.

“One thing that we’re finding with the people that we’re talking to is… it’s the people in the sandwich generation who say, ‘My parents want their own place but they’re getting to that age where they need some support, so they’re going to move in with us. Let’s look at an accessory unit so we can house my parents.’ In other cases, they’re saying, ‘Hey my kids aren’t moving out, but I want to give them some independence where they have their own place.’ Other people are saying, ‘Mortgages are pretty high right now. It would be nice to have some extra income (with a rental unit).’”

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In its plan, St. Marys defines affordable housing as housing provided below market rents for priority populations in need. Attainable housing has a looser definition that involves new housing “advanced” through existing or planned developments that are supported, in part, by municipal policies or government funding programs that may include affordable units.

In addition to incentivizing construction of accessory units, the Town of St. Marys will also host a workshop in mid-February with developers, builders, real estate experts and town staff to provide locals with the information needed to build an accessory unit on their properties .

For more information on St. Marys’ Opening Doors plan, visit www.townofstmarys.com/en/living-here/housing.aspx.

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