Council votes to sell land to Habitat for $1

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This article was published 20/09/2024 (623 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Habitat for Humanity’s plans to build up to 26 more homes in Brandon are closer to fruition.

Brandon City Council voted Monday evening to sell several city-owned lots on Sixth Street North to the non-profit group for $1 so that affordable housing can be built on them.

Reached by phone on Thursday, Habitat for Humanity Manitoba CEO Jamie Hall said the properties in question are in the Assiniboine Gardens area — the flats between the CPKC railway tracks and the Assiniboine River.

“It was in 2001 that the city provided the lots on Percy and Franklin (streets),” Hall said. “We’ll be finishing those up next year. This is just a wonderful continuation of the City of Brandon providing lots for affordable homeownership.”

The properties, which are on the block of Sixth Street North between Stickney Avenue to the south and Parker Boulevard to the north, will facilitate the construction of 25 or 26 units on both sides of the road over two phases.

The final number of units isn’t yet known because Habitat has the option of either selling one of the lots for market value to help generate funds to build needed infrastructure for the rest of the lots or receiving up to $150,000 from Brandon’s Housing Accelerator Fund money.

Last December, Hall gave a presentation to council saying that Habitat was eyeing construction of housing for about 60 families in the Assiniboine Gardens area made up of duplexes and multi-family homes.

While the organization has been building duplexes with basements on Franklin Street, Hall said Thursday that’s not as desirable an option on Sixth Street North because of a high water table.

Because of that, he said they’ve decided to build two-storey, single-family homes without a basement but with a slightly larger footprint to make up for it.

Phase 1, which Hall said would involve 13 units on the northern end of the block, will likely start construction in 2026 if the transaction proceeds as planned. Phase 2 doesn’t have an estimated start date but will involve 12 or 13 units closer to Stickney Avenue.

There are also early talks over developing more lots in the neighbourhood, potentially another 20 lots on Seventh Street North, but Hall said that’s “not quite on the drawing board yet.”

Currently, Habitat builds two to four homes per year in Brandon, but Hall said they’re hoping to boost production.

He said they’re hoping local individuals or organizations will donate time, money or their skills toward the construction. He said anyone interested can visit the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store at 630 Rosser Ave.

“We do have some great relationships with businesses and individuals in Brandon that have either donated materials, have donated services in kind from a trades perspective or businesses that have just come out and volunteered for the day on one of our build sites,” Hall said.

Beyond that, he said the lots Brandon has provided to Habitat to build homes on have been the most generous of any municipality in the province.

More information on donating or applying for homeownership through Habitat can also be found online at habitat.mb.ca.

At Monday’s council meeting, the councillor for Assiniboine Gardens hailed the subsidized sale as a great opportunity.

“We’re lucky to have partners like Habitat for Humanity that are not just builders, but developers,” Coun. Kris Desjarlais (Ward 2) said.

“This area for our community would need significant development for any housing to occur, which is why when you have a not-for-profit that would do that and you’ve got an opportunity to build that kind of housing, you jump at that opportunity.”

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