Bruce Power is launching a new grant to help municipalities in the region with affordable housing projects.
Director of Community, Media Relations and Economic Development John Peevers says the new grant will provide $250,000 over five years to municipalities across Grey, Bruce and Huron counties.
“It really is designed to offer our assistance with grant applications, rent supplicant programs, consulting work, those kinds of things. Municipalities across the region are really all concerned with building more affordable and attainable housing and this is designed to help them,” says Peevers.
Municipalities can also use the grant funding to cover planning fees, project viability studies, energy modelling studies, and accessibility modelling studies.
Bruce Power Chief Development Officer and Executive Vice-President James Scongack adds the energy company needs to help support municipalities in building the infrastructure to support growth.
“It’s clear that the nuclear industry is a key driver of the local economy, but we also recognize that access to affordable housing is an issue across Ontario and in our region,” says Scongack.
To be eligible for the grant, the affordable housing projects must have a proposed rent of at or below 80 per cent of the average market rents, a minimum of five affordable housing units, the primary use of the project must be residential, and must be located in Grey, Bruce and Huron counties.
“The growth in our region has shown that there’s a real need for more affordable housing options and we’re hoping that this seed funding can help the municipalities get new projects off the ground,” says Peevers.
He says they will be reaching out to local municipalities to provide more details on the new grant.
