Funding will boost housing construction in the Sault

Provincial cash to boost housing in the Sault Hundreds of new housing units will soon come to Sault Ste. Marie thanks to recent funding from the provincial government.

Hundreds of new housing units will soon come to Sault Ste. Marie thanks to recent funding from the provincial government.

Sault MPP Ross Romano made the multi-million-dollar announcement in the city Tuesday.

In total, $7.4 million from Ontario’s housing-enabling water systems fund will allow the Sault to add nearly 400 housing units by expanding sewer connections in the People’s Road area.

“It's been … since the 1970s that we've seen the type of growth like this in Sault Ste. Marie -- over 50 years of always just trying to retain population," Romano said.

"And here we are now, bursting at the seams and really desperately in need of these infrastructure funds.”

"There are a couple of planned and approved subdivisions in the area that council approved in the last 10 years I'd say that haven't been developed because the infrastructure has been bottlenecked in that area," said Mayor Matthew Shoemaker.

"So this will help those go forward. That was a mix of townhouses, single units and row houses. But there is also undeveloped land."

The mix of housing options will be the latest in a string of developments as the city looks to surpass goals imposed by the province.

“Last year we maxed out our eligibility for the Build Faster fund by exceeding our housing targets by 194 per cent," Shoemaker said.

"We're not sure by how much until the end of the year, but we are on track to exceed our housing target again this year, and we will, hopefully max out our eligibility for the Build Faster fund once again.”

Romano said that new housing developments on the horizon will lead many to relocate to the Sault.

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“I think we can look to our housing markets, the cost of living in our area and be able to say, please come stay here, come look for a place in Sault Ste. Marie," he said.

"Come look for a place in northern Ontario, where it is, certainly, more affordable than it is in some of the bigger cities.”

The province has a second round of this funding, for which Shoemaker said the Sault will apply. Parameters state that the projects must begin no later than Sept. 30 of this year and be completed before March 31, 2027.