The year of 2023 is starting off with some great housing news for Chatham-Kent.
The Municipality will address four large developments at the Council meeting Monday evening.
The first is a rental housing development in Chatham at Grand Avenue East, just east of Kingsway Drive. The proposed $25 million, six-storey apartment building with 82 units would go on approximately 1.26 hectares of vacant land in the area.
The owner is getting a tax break under the Chatham-Kent Community Improvement Plan, Property Tax Increment Equivalent Grant, which defers all of the new municipal property taxes levied on the development linked to new assessment growth for 10 years.
The Municipality has also received $210,000 from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to get the ball rolling on a proposed 60-70 unit affordable housing building in Wallaceburg. The funding would pay for preliminary architectural design drawings and a cost analysis for the project at Westcourt Boulevard.
Director of Housing Services Ray Harper said providing this type of housing would be ideal for Wallaceburg because this concept can allow older families and baby boomers to age in place as unit size needs change when children leave the nest and adults move into smaller spaces.
"Although one bedroom units are still highest demand, there is a growing need to provide new family units due to markedly low turnover rates in Rent Geared to Income family units, particularly in Wallaceburg," wrote Harper in his report. "As home prices continue to rise in Chatham-Kent, families who would have left community housing remain in community housing due to unaffordable market rents and starter home prices. This has increased demand. Households that do not qualify for community housing but cannot afford market units based on the amount of their gross income versus rapidly increasing average market rent are falling through the gaps."
The development is planned to use a portion of the property, while the remaining land is planned to be developed as a municipal park that could include a playground, a walking trail, and a multi-use court for basketball, ball hockey, or volleyball. A Let’s Talk CK community engagement page has been developed to inform residents of the potential development options and to seek feedback on the needs of the community for a neighbourhood park at this location.
Also up for discussion are zoning bylaw ammendments for new developments in Tilbury and Wallaceburg.
Plans are underway for a new five storey mixed use commercial/residential building at 8 and10-12 Mill Street West in Tilbury near Centre Street. They include commercial space on the ground floor and up to 60 apartments in the remainder of the building.
Three new apartment buildings are also planned for 7030 Base Line in Wallaceburg near Murray Street. The applicant wants three, five storey buildings with up to 85 apartments each.