Affordable home project chokes on $1M city charges

A housing project that would help modest and low-income families own their own condominium unit has run into a wall — building permits, municipal development and tipping fees estimated to total around $1 million.

Tom Corbett, the developer with the Options for Homes project, and Jean-Mathieu Chenier, the business development officer for the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation (GSDC), spoke before the city's policy committee to ask the city to defer the development fees for 10 years.

The project is patterned after an Ontario-wide housing movement started by Toronto's Michel Labbé. The proposed condominium, which would be built on MacKenzie Street beside the main branch of the city library, would have each unit offered at 15 per cent less its market value, in order to help moderate to low-income families afford them.

The affordable-housing project was promoted by the GDSC as early as 2007, and gained the support of city council in 2008. At the time, the city was suffering a housing crisis brought on by low vacancy rates, according to a GDSC report.

The first delay in the $20 million project came after the economy crumbled and questions about the nature of the units were brought forward. Local residents said they were concerned the units would look like "subsidized housing," and be "out of character" for the area.

Corbett redesigned the building, and the new design was accepted by area residents.

With the delays and slowed sales, the project was unable to lift off the ground before the city changed its policies on development fees for multiple residential buildings. The change saw the development charges rise from about $175,000 to more than $800,000 in 2012.

“My estimates are for a 2012 building season," Corbett said. Once he adds in the $100,000 in tipping fees and various city permits, the cost is estimated to be around $1 million.

The deferred costs would be repaid when unit owners resold their units, or on a payment schedule.

Councillors expressed concern that deferring the fees would set precedent, and instructed city staff to dedicate the necessary resources to study the feasibility of assisting the project.