THUNDER BAY — A transitional housing project on the city’s north side first proposed five years ago is finally set to move forward.
The province on Monday officially announced funding for the $8.7-million development, to be located on a vacant lot on Junot Avenue between the Superior North EMS headquarters and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Thunder Bay's facility on Windsor Street.
The 58-unit housing complex will be able to provide 24-hour youth workers and have full-time case managers on site.
The three-story building will host various programs for the youth staying, including employment training and education assistance and will provide a sense of community and cultural connection for those staying at the transitional housing location.
The project been a long time coming, said Justin Marchand, the chief executive officer of Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, who first brought the proposal to Thunder Bay city council in June 2018.
Marchand, while thanking government partners for supporting the development, said the project has now secured all of the required capital and operating funding.
"Housing is absolutely a choice. If people are a priority, then housing will be a priority," he said.
In what at times was a contentious process that drew opposition from some nearby residents and a handful of city councillors, Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services was able to buy the land from the city and secure rezoning to allow the development to move forward. A subsequent appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal looking to overturn the rezoning was unsuccessful.
Speaking at the announcement, Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Kevin Holland noted that some of the social issues in the city are related to (a lack of) housing,
"Housing is core to addressing that," he said.
Mayor Ken Boshcoff also noted that there is a significant gap in (social) services, and this new project will help narrow that.
Funding for the housing is coming from the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program (ISHP), which the Ontario government recently increased the yearly funding for by 38 per cent.
Services and programming will be provided by the Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre and the Métis Nation of Ontario.
Construction is expected to start later this fall, with the potential to be open in March 2025.
