Around this time next year, the hope is some workforce housing in Northumberland will be taking shape and building underway.
Work on the effort – and the formalization of the Northumberland Workforce Housing Corporation – aimed at addressing critical shortages in the labour market started last year. The corporation also recently hired its first official staffer.
The project got started in the wake of the housing crisis, recognizing current costs are often beyond that of working families – and the correlation between employers struggling to retain and recruit employees.
Simply put, Northumberland businesses and industries can’t have a thriving labour force if there’s nowhere affordable to live.
“We’re moving along – we’re at the stage where it has taken us a bit of time to sort of put all the moving parts in play,” explained Dan Borowec, the county’s director of strategic initiatives. “(This is) because we’re trying to launch the workforce housing corporation with all the necessary supports and answers in place.”
According to the Central Lakes Association of Realtors, in Northumberland, as of June 2024, the year-to-date average price for all home types here was listed at $724,570.
The workforce housing initiative was developed looking at similar models in Canada, including what Borowec describes as an incredibly successful model known as Attainable Homes Calgary (AHC.) This organization has been at this for more than a decade, doing some trailblazing work when it comes to helping hard-working families and making a dent under labour needs, explained Borowec, adding Northumberland is benefiting from a working relationship with them, their lessons learned and insights into their wins.
Ultimately, though, the project is tied to various factors: Acquiring land at no cost through municipalities, work with builders and developers, financials, and more.
And while it’s still too “premature” to say where housing will be located, Borowec has said discussions are continuing.
Those draft drawings of stacked and rowed townhouses are ideas local builders and developers have said they think could work within the price range established, continued Borowec.
“We’ve been back to the financial institutions to ensure there is support at their end and a willingness to act as the financial instruments for the potential purchases of workforce housing.”
Partners across the board do appear to have a positive appetite for the project, noted Borowec.
In other words, “it’s all in play,” and the public can expect more official communication soon.
“We’re close, and we’re probably going to start issuing communication related to it, very, very shortly.”
Future correspondence will frame the ultimate picture more, give the public a clear idea of status and what’s to come, noted Borowec.
The goal is to eventually have this type of housing across the county/at several sites. However, to start it won’t be building hundreds of homes – it will begin in “small bits and pieces.”
“(This is) because we need to ensure that the program itself launches in such a way that it bodes well for success over time.”
To start, it is anticipated the project will focus on labour areas where demand is urgent and immediate. Among areas identified include healthcare, given current needs and demographics, as well as construction.
As outlined in the county’s 2023 housing and homelessness annual report, vacancy rates and access to rental housing also continue to be a challenge here.
Average market rents for one-bedrooms are often described as more expensive than in neighbouring areas. In the report, it details average rent for an available private market one-bedroom apartment is so high a household needs to make upwards of $70,000 to afford it – and this far exceeds the median income for this demographic of $40,800.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
