Bathurst Introduces Housing Accelerator Fund Grant Opportunities
The City of Bathurst introduced two new grant policies as part of its Housing Accelerator Fund action plan, the policies being approved by Council at its Regular Public Meeting on Monday night.
On January 31, 2024, the City of Bathurst and the CMHC signed a contribution agreement valued at just over $3 million dollars to help accelerate housing development. For its part, the City committed to an action plan containing several initiatives, including the reduction of red tape for developers, and offering financial incentives for the development of new housing units.
“We are pleased to announce the details of our first HAF grant policies. This is good news. By no means is this money a silver bullet to the housing shortage we, like many, are facing. But every dollar counts. Each of these policies comes with a maximum benefit of up to $20,000 per housing unit created – whether newly constructed or through the conversion of non-residential building space. Contributions will be highest for projects developed in any one of the three strategic zones identified in our policy documents.”, said Chris Legacy, Director of Economic Development.
As part of its agreement with the CMHC, the City has also committed to issuing permits for a total of 160 residential units by the end of 2026. However, a recently published housing needs assessment for the Chaleur Region identified a need for approximately 165 new housing units annually through the same period. The report made clear that there is an acute demand for housing in proximity to CCNB’s College St. campus, the Chaleur Regional Hospital, and the City’s downtown core. These areas make up the strategic zones of the City’s new HAF grant policies.
“These incentives can certainly be launching pads for needed housing construction projects in our city. We’re not done in our policy and by-law revisions yet, but this is an important step forward in our efforts to address urgent housing needs. We thank our federal counterparts for providing us with the means to provide increased support to housing development”, said Mayor Kim Chamberlain.