Barrie breaks ground on affordable housing project to tackle housing crisis
Shovels hit the ground on Friday marking the ceremonial groundbreaking of an eight-storey, 108-unit apartment building in Barrie to address the housing crisis plaguing the city.
"This is huge, seeing affordable housing come to our city, come to our downtown where families are going to be able to pursue their hopes and dreams. It's incredible," said Mayor Alex Nuttall on Friday.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
The Coral Sophia Lane Housing project, located at the corner of Bayfield and Sophia Streets, will include 45 affordable housing units.
The $60-million project is a collaborative effort between the Coral Group and Gillam Construction Group, which will receive financial support from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the City of Barrie's improvement plan.
"Our mandate was, as a board, just to continue to try and provide affordable housing for the city. That's how we started, and that's what we would like to keep doing," said Coral Housing Group president Tim Grant.
"It's a genuine privilege to be working with this group and we're very excited to be involved in the project to be making a substantial impact on the community of Barrie," added Gillam Construction Group CEO Marcus Gillam.
The City of Barrie will provide $600,000 toward waiving development charges for the project.
Jennifer van Gennip with Redwood Park Communities applauded the initiative.
"In this housing market, any housing start is good news. But specifically, purpose-built rentals for affordable housing are really going to help us meet the need here in Barrie," she noted.
Construction on the new building is slated to officially get underway in the next two weeks, with completion expected within two years.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
LIVE UPDATES Critical infrastructure 'successfully protected': Jasper park officials
Jasper National Park officials in an update said all critical infrastructure in the townsite has been 'successfully protected, including the hospital, emergency services building, both elementary and junior/senior schools, activity centre and wastewater treatment plant.'
BREAKING Canadian Olympic Committee removes women's soccer team's head coach over drone scandal
The Canadian Olympic Committee has removed women's national soccer team head coach Bev Priestman over a drone scandal, according to a press release from the organization.
'I was just shocked': Jasper lodge owner on seeing property destroyed by wildfire
On Wednesday night, the owner of Maligne Lodge in Jasper, Alta., was shocked to receive a photo of her business engulfed in flames.
Prince William's 2023 salary revealed in new report
Newly released financial reports show that William, the Prince of Wales, drew a salary of $42.1 million last fiscal year, his first since inheriting the vast and lucrative Duchy of Cornwall.
Yukon woman narrowly escapes bear attack, credits hair clip
A woman in Yukon believes her hair clip helped save her during a bear attack.
P.E.I. and New Brunswick among most overworked provinces in Canada, study finds
A study says Prince Edward Island is the second most overworked province in Canada based on average weekly hours worked, while New Brunswick falls in third.
Alberta premier says a third, perhaps half, of all Jasper buildings destroyed by fire
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says early reports indicate a third and perhaps up to half of all buildings in the historic Rocky Mountain resort town of Jasper have burned in a wildfire.
OPINION Prince Harry: Press intrusion and the family rift explored in new doc
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has once again found himself at the centre of media attention following his recent interview as part of 'Tabloids on Trial,' an ITV documentary on phone hacking and tabloid intrusion.
Tourist suffers 3rd-degree burns to feet after losing flip flops amid soaring temperatures in Death Valley
A tourist was hospitalized after suffering third-degree burns on his feet on Saturday when he lost his flip flops at a national park in California where temperatures soared past 50 C.