The City of Calgary has announced it’s selling off five parcels of city-owned land to allow for the construction of 387 new affordable homes.
The properties, which are being sold below market value, are located in the communities of Crescent Heights, Erlton, Haysboro, Erin Woods and Shaganappi.
The city says four groups — including several Indigenous organizations, who were given priority — have been selected to purchase the land.
They groups include:
- Erin Woods to Siksika Off-Reserve Affordable Housing (SORAH)
- Crescent Heights to Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary (AFCC)
- Erlton and Shaganappi to Onward Homes
- Haysboro to Liberty Housing Organization
The successful applicants will have up to four years to construct the housing, including time for planning, permit approvals and community engagement.
Each parcel of land also comes with a per-door funding of $75,000, which results in a $29-million contribution from the city’s Housing Accelerator Fund to help non-profit affordable housing providers build quickly.
Blackfoot elder Jackie Bromley says the sale of city-owned land to indigenous groups for the construction of affordable housing means “the lives of families will forever be changed for the better.”
Global News
“Indigenous people in Calgary continue to face unique and deeply rooted barriers to safe and affordable housing,” Blackfoot Elder Jackie Bromley said in reaction to the announcement.
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Bromley called it “a significant step in the city’s commitment to reconciliation.”
“The lives of families will forever be changed for the better through the housing that will result from these five projects,” she said.
“Close to 400 families will have a place to call home, a place to live with dignity, and a community within which to put down roots.”
Marcus Berzins, manager of Housing Solutions for the City of Calgary said under the policy, which was passed in 2019, the city sells up to ten parcels of land every two years for the development of non-market homes.
To date, the city has conducted four sales of land through the program, contributing $25.3 million in land value and enabling the development of 835 homes.