Jason Davis, Director of Development and Property for the County of Renfrew, speaks about the open Expression of Interest on County Properties for Affordable Housing during the County’s Affordable Housing Summit in Renfrew on April 4. Developers attending the summit were encouraged to consider making submissions ahead of the June 7, 2024 deadline. County of Renfrew photo
The sizable turnout for the County of Renfrew’s Affordable Housing Summit just goes to show how serious the local housing crisis is.
County staff and politicians met with developers, landlords, and interested residents at Renfrew’s myFM Centre on Thursday to share ideas and solutions that could be put into practice in the Ottawa Valley.
The County’s Director of Development and Property, Jason Davis, says this discussion and many suggestions made on how to tackle affordable, obtainable local housing shows that developers are interested in taking on those projects.
It’s all information that Davis says the County will hope to build future partnerships and projects around, regardless of the size and scope.
With a full day’s worth of presentations and input in hand, Davis says it will not be too long before the data gets turned around into something the County can act upon.
Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP John Yakabuski kicked off the session, noting that the cracks in the system were not made overnight, and that the similar meetings were being held across Ontario, Canada, and world-wide.
He added that solutions will need to involve all levels of government working together, as the province and municipalities will need to work together with their federal counterparts to ensure a recent $600 million investment into affordable housing is used properly.
Warden Peter Emon says the County would follow, explaining that the fact that only 8 of approximately 1,022 affordable units the County of Renfrew owns and operates are relatively new as a indication that there is a pressing need for more options locally.
(written by Kasey Egan)