Land donation paves way for affordable housing development in Antigonish

Meig Campbell · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 14, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

When an Antigonish doctor and her spouse purchased a ample spot connected the outskirts of town two years ago, they envisioned what could beryllium imaginable for their community.

"We were walking done the onshore 1 time betwixt the spruce trees and the pome trees," said Amy Hendricks, recalling the infinitesimal her husband, Paul Davies, raised the idea. "And helium said, 'Can't you conscionable ideate an affordable lodging improvement here?'"

Now, readying is underway for a improvement that could pb to the operation of 150 housing units connected a 16-hectare conception of onshore they donated to the Antigonish Affordable Housing Society. The enactment has already received effect backing to statesman the appraisal process for a archetypal signifier that volition see 56 units.

Hendricks, an interior medicine specialist at St. Martha's Regional Hospital, and her household moved to Antigonish from Yellowknife successful 2016. When the mates sought retired onshore to make a clinic for her and other doctors to enactment retired of, they recovered an 18-hectare crippled and purchased it, knowing it was overmuch larger than the abstraction they required. 

"We privation to put successful a assemblage and beryllium a portion of the assemblage that has younger radical and older radical and immigrants and children," said Hendricks.

'The request is rather significant'

Colleen Cameron, chair of the committee of the Antigonish Affordable Housing Society, told CBC's Maritime Noon she was taken by astonishment erstwhile Hendricks approached her astir donating the property. But determination was nary uncertainty what Hendricks and Davies had successful caput would help code lodging shortages successful the municipality and county.

"The request is rather significant," Cameron said Thursday.

She pointed to a provincial lodging needs assessment that predicted 1,500 caller lodging units volition beryllium needed by 2032 in Antigonish County, which has a colonisation of somewhat much than 20,000. The town, which includes St. Francis Xavier University, has akin needs, though connected a smaller scale.

"That puts other strain connected our assemblage successful presumption of accessing affordable lodging with the infirmary and the university," said Cameron. "So what we're doing is we're going to beryllium contributing astir 10 per cent of that lodging banal that is going to beryllium required by 2032."

Diverse community 

The full task is expected to outgo astir $22 million. Cameron said her enactment volition beryllium applying for grants, mortgages and repayable loans done Housing Nova Scotia and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. 

The lodging nine itself has to rise 5 per cent of that amount, oregon somewhat much than $1 million, which volition necessitate fundraising efforts and assemblage support.

Cameron said she foresees a "diverse community" of residents, with "people of each ages, radical of divers incomes and divers backgrounds. There's going to beryllium radical that person full-time jobs, there's going to beryllium radical that are seniors."

The bulk of the units volition beryllium classed arsenic affordable, based on Housing Nova Scotia's definition, she said.

Someone applying for a one-bedroom rental unit would have to person an income beneath $62,000, she said. For a two-bedroom unit, the household bounds is $72,000. There volition besides beryllium three- and four-bedrooms units. 

"They're not low, debased incomes, but if you're making that benignant of money, it's inactive a large situation to get immoderate benignant of lodging that is affordable successful this community," said Cameron.

Hendricks said she hopes the full municipality volition payment from these lodging units. 

"We are each assemblage members and we're conscionable excited to beryllium determination unneurotic and make thing that I deliberation volition beryllium truly beautiful."