Construction of the new Lighthouse community services hub and supportive-housing units will begin at the same time.
Officials say that will save money in the long run and allow for construction to be finished sooner.
“We had always felt we would do one building and have the supportive-housing units in the same structure as the other services,” said Glenn Wagner, co-chair of the Building Hope campaign.
Those plans changed after the committee applied for funding for the supportive-housing portion from the Home for Good program through the County of Simcoe and the province.
Those two government bodies wanted the project to begin as soon as possible, but the plan was to have the supportive-housing units on the third floor of a single building.
Then, when the committee applied for a grant from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), that agency asked that the application be for the entire project rather than the supportive-housing units alone. The CMHC ended up providing a grant that covered 40 per cent of the cost of the entire project — both the hub, which will include a shelter, and supportive housing.
That allowed the committee to pursue two separate buildings at the same time.
“It saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars to do them both at once,” Wagner said.
It is expected to save even more money when it comes time to build a third structure on the Queen Street property for affordable-housing units. While those plans are not yet in place, Wagner said the committee is looking at eventually severing part of the property and having a private developer build the units.
Site servicing will already be in place for the first two structures, and the affordable-housing development will be able to connect to them.
He said there have already been “several” private developers show interest in the project.
What will become of the existing Lighthouse building on Peter Street South has yet to be determined, but Wagner said there are no plans to hold onto it. It will be used as equity for the new project, he said.
Construction is set to begin this month on Queen Street and expected to wrap up by spring 2021.
There are multiple ways people can contribute to the Building Hope campaign, which still aims to raise $2.7 million. Wagner expects to make an announcement soon that will “reduce that substantially,” but there will still be a need for donations.
To learn more about the project and how to contribute, click here.
