Skip to content

Rossland gets federal support for affordable housing project

Federation of Canadian Municipalities announce $3.2M investment in the City of Rossland
28483519_web1_220324-TRL-FCM-grant-Gg_1
The Midtown affordable housing project received funding from Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Photo: Jim Bailey

Everyone in Canada deserves a safe, affordable, and sustainable place to call home.

That is why the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) are investing in communities to provide sustainable and affordable housing for residents.

John Aldag, Member of Parliament for Cloverdale—Langley City, on behalf of the federal government and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), announced a $3.2 million investment in the City of Rossland last week for its construction of the Midtown affordable housing project.

“Rossland greatly appreciates the FCM grant we have received to bring our new affordable housing/city hall project up to a higher standard of energy efficiency,” said Moore in a release. “With our commitment to rely on 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050, we hope this FCM supported project will inspire others to implement construction and retrofit net zero standards throughout our community.”

The funding is provided through FCM’s Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH) initiative and will support the construction of 37 housing units to address a lack of workforce housing for individuals and families in Rossland.

The Lower Columbia Affordable Housing Society, in partnership with the City, will add these units above a new City Hall which will occupy most of the first floor of the new build.

To achieve the net-zero energy ready standard, the building will use efficient mechanical and electrical systems, a highly insulated building envelope, high-efficiency windows and LED lighting.

“By building high-quality and energy-efficient affordable housing, we are building healthy and sustainable communities,” said Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. “Canada’s ongoing transition to a low-carbon economy requires innovative and affordable housing solutions that create jobs and climate resilience while making life more affordable through saved energy costs.”

Rossland committed to the 100 per cent Renewable Energy Plan in January 2021, which through a series of steps will see the city reach complete renewable energy in transportation, heating and cooling, electricity and waste management by 2050.

The Government of Canada endowed the $300-million Sustainable Affordable Housing initiative as part of a $950-million expansion of FCM’s Green Municipal Fund (GMF) in Budget 2019.

“This is great news,” said Richard Cannings, Member of Parliament for South Okanagan-West Kootenay. “Helping municipalities fund green infrastructure is a critical part of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.”

The SAH initiative helps housing providers retrofit existing units for higher energy performance or build new affordable housing to net-zero standards, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and supporting municipalities in achieving their broader climate change plan objectives.

In its first year of funding, in 2020-2021, the SAH initiative approved funding for 33 projects, representing more than 3,000 units.

Read: Rental applications accepted mid-summer for Rossland Midtown development


<>



sports@trailtimes.ca

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

href="mailto:sports@trailtimes.ca" target="_blank">
sports@trailtimes.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter



Jim Bailey

About the Author: Jim Bailey

Read more