Belleville Council has approved the financial side of its Community Improvement Plan which will see more than $13 million allocated over 10 years as an incentive for new rental developments in the city.
The goal is to create 544 new affordable rental units, which fits into a target of having 1,000 new rental units by 2025.
Mayor Mitch Panciuk says that money could be used elsewhere, but council felt it was important to find ways to address the housing crunch the city is facing.
“There were a lot of reasons not to do anything. There are a lot of communities in Ontario that are suffering the same type of stress in their housing market as we are in Belleville, and they’re not taking these steps, we have been leaders on this. This is an area of provincial and federal jurisdiction, but they’re not doing it, so we have to.”
The program is expected to cost the city more than $1.34 million in the first year and peak in year nine, at a cost of $1.73 million.
Over the course of the plan, the average cost to the city per new housing unit would be about $24,500.
Any unused money would go into a reserve fund and be carried over for use in the future, but Mayor Panciuk is hoping that the plan will drive enough construction that more money may need to be put into it.
