Council approves plan to create 638 new affordable homes

Waterloo Region – Regional Council has approved a plan to create 638 affordable homes on five Waterloo Region Housing (WRH) properties over the next 10 years.

The development is part of a WRH master plan approved by Council at a meeting last night (Wednesday). WRH currently owns and operates more than 2,700 community housing units in Waterloo Region.

“Transforming some of our aging buildings will help us address the growing wait list for community housing and the growing number of tenant requests to move to units that better meet their needs,” said Mina Fayez-Baghat, Manager of Waterloo Region Housing.

“This project may also lead to more supports being available for tenants in their buildings and new employment opportunities or skill development for people living in WRH communities.”

The WRH master plan was developed over two years with help from the community. In addition to new units, it will ensure existing properties are kept in good condition.

“This is just one of the ways we are working to address housing affordability and availability in Waterloo Region while working with the resources we have,” said Ryan Pettipiere, Director of Housing Services at the Region of Waterloo.

In the past five years, 209 new affordable housing units have been built through Regional investments, plus 92 units that are under construction and 61 in development.

The Region will also form an innovation table early next year that will include stakeholders from outside the housing sector to identify new ways to generate affordable housing.

For more information, please contact:
Sherry Morley, Communications Coordinator
Community Services, Region of Waterloo
smorley@regionofwaterloo.ca
Cell: 226-750-6972

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