Five city-owned land parcels will soon be the location of 387 new affordable homes in Calgary.
Four organizations, Onward Homes, Siksika Off-Reserve Affordable Housing (SORAH), Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary (AFCC), and Liberty Housing Organization have purchased land from the City of Calgary at below-market value to create these developments.
The homes will be built in Crescent Heights, Erlton, Haysboro, Erin Woods, and Shaganappi.
“The need for affordable housing in Calgary is greater than ever, and selling city-owned land below market value to these affordable housing builders is a major step toward meeting that demand. By working with trusted organizations, we are not only providing more homes but also making our communities more inclusive,” said Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
The successful applicants will have up to four years to construct the housing, including seeking planning approvals and community engagement, according to the city.
In this round of non-market land sales, Indigenous organizations were given priority in an earlier application period to apply for a parcel of land.
Each parcel of land also comes with a per door funding of $75,000, for a total contribution of $29 million from the Housing Accelerator Fund.
To date, the city says it has contributed $25.3 million in land value, enabling the development of 835 homes.
The Non-Market Housing Land Sale program allows the city to sell land to organizations at below market value to allow for the opportunity to develop affordable housing at a discounted rate.