It’s another step towards building what’s being called the largest affordable housing project north of Barrie.
Last week, Huntsville council supported, in principle, the donation of seven and a half acres of land for the Muskoka Community Land Trust (MCLT) affordable housing development.
Officials say it would boast nearly 200 units and they’re hoping to have them ready to move into in the next couple of years.
Council directed staff to engage legal services to assist with the development of a letter of intent, with associated conditions to be addressed prior to the transfer of the land, and report back.
Kirstin Maxwell, Town of Huntsville director of development services, said the town recognized during the June 24 council meeting they had “considerable land” holding up at the top of Florence Street.
“There is a severe shortage of housing, specifically rental housing in Huntsville. Council and staff recognized quite a few years ago that. We knew there were changes that needed to be made in order to try and accelerate housing,“ shared Maxwell. “I think probably 2012 was when it was first brought up that we should be looking at what we can do with the property.”
Sandi Martin, Muskoka Community Land Trust executive director, said Huntsville has no affordable housing and “desperately needs it” as the rental vacancy rates are less than one per cent.
“The economic development of Huntsville depends on people. And without homes, they cannot afford to rent or own. We can’t keep people in the region to do all the skilled labor that Huntsville needs to thrive,” added Martin “We don’t have construction workers, tourism operators, all those people being able to afford housing. And so now is the time to fix that.”
Maxwell said they have made “very significant” changes over the last years to streamline approvals and make it easier for people to build houses, apartments, townhouses, and all forms of housing locally.
“COVID came along, and it really exacerbated the situation. So this is a great opportunity for Huntsville because it could be 179 units of rental housing developed that would remain affordable because the land trust organization can control how the property gets rented,” said Maxwell.
According to Maxwell, they are finalizing the details for the property’s final development and the zoning site plan.
“The land trust has been working with different funding organizations like CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) in order to make connections in the hope of getting grant funding to be able to proceed with the development of the site,” Maxwell said.
Martin said the next phase is to secure construction financing, adding that it is a “big, ambitious project.”
“It’s going to be the largest affordable housing project north of Barrie in the entire province of Ontario,” said Martin. “We really are hoping that we’re going to have the units ready to move into by mid to end 2026.”
Maxwell said she is optimistic it will be a project that moves ahead relatively quickly.
