Progress is underway on an affordable public housing project in Eastern Passage, N.S. An architecture firm is finalizing preliminary designs on eight apartments in the area, expected to house around 25 people. Tenants will not pay more than 30 per cent of their income, before taxes, on rent. The Government of Nova Scotia made the announcement on Thursday, just days after Statistics Canada released data showing more Canadians live in unaffordable housing. “More public housing is great news. I am happy that more people will have peace of mind knowing they will have a safe, comfortable place to live, great neighbours and rent they can afford,” says public housing tenant Penny Conway in a provincial news release. The province says 69 per cent of current public housing tenants are seniors, 25 per cent are families, and six per cent are couples or individuals younger than 58. The new apartments will be located on Caldwell Road near schools, daycare, shopping, employment opportunities and transit. They will have a patio or balcony, private entrances, energy-efficient appliances and heat pumps to keep tenants warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Nova Scotia’s zzap Architecture and Planning is finalizing designs for the new housing. Construction is expected to start next year. The Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency will determine who lives in the apartments, based on a waitlist. To qualify for public housing, households must meet eligibility programs established by the Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency. The project in Eastern Passage falls under the province’s five-year housing plan launched in 2023. The “Action for Housing” plan outlines goals of boosting housing supply, adding affordable housing, and providing necessary programs. In line with the plan, the government has pledged $251 million to build 515 new public housing units for more than 1,300 people across the province. Of the 515 homes planned, 315 are underway or complete. “More people are choosing to live in Nova. While that’s good news for the province, significant growth puts pressure on the housing market,” the province says of the housing plan. Surges in demand and lagging supply have made buying and renting homes increasingly expensive in Nova Scotia, according to the government’s reporting. “It costs more to own a home, the share of people reasonably able to afford a home is lower, and the proportion of median income required to purchase a home, in most instances, is significantly higher than households can afford,” read the reports key findings. In 2022, forecasts suggested that to keep pace with population growth, the province will need 104,800 new units by 2032. Housing Minister John White recently provided an update. Three years into the plan, he says the province is exceeding key targets and has “created the conditions for almost 80,000 additional homes.” With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Jesse Thomas For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
