A supportive housing project to help Barrie’s homeless has the conditional blessing of city council.
It added the $3-million, supportive modular housing project, to be located at the old fire hall site on Vespra Street, to the 2021 operating and capital budget Monday night.
“The reality is there are people living out on the streets in our community, and on top of that we are facing a housing crisis,” said Coun. Keenan Aylwin, who represents this part of Barrie. “This is one step in the right direction.”
“It becomes a very cost-effective, innovative and quick way to deliver low-cost public housing,” Mayor Jeff Lehman said. “This site was first identified a year and a half ago as a potential site for affordable housing.”
These one-person, 450- to 500-square-foot, stackable housing units each cost about $195,000.
The Ontario government defines supportive housing as a combination of housing assistance and supports that enable people to live as independently as possible in their community.
But council’s support for this project comes with a number of conditions.
The approximate $3-million cost, including a $500,000 estimate for soil remediation (capped at $750,000), will be funded from debt, with final amounts to be determined through request-for-proposal planning and approval of a building proposal, with the annual debt servicing costs to be paid from the reinvestment reserve and that money be leveraged access other funding opportunities.
After consultation with the County of Simcoe and social agencies dealing with homelessness, and before issuing the request for proposal, community and corporate services general manager Dawn McAlpine will report back to Barrie councillors on the target residents for the Vespra Street project, sources of subsidies, key project parameters, and how the city’s funding can be leveraged to access other funding opportunities.
Then city staff will issue a call for proposals for a service provider to construct and manage the project, and operate the housing units.
Staff would also hold a neighbourhood meeting with the successful proponent and area residents to engage the public in the process and get feedback to improve the overall implementation of the project.
“We are adding language so that we can get the information that we need to make the best decision possible and to have the best project possible,” Aylwin said. “I heard councillors loud and clear last week (Jan. 19) that there was a desire for more information and I think this achieves that.”
Coun. Sergio Morales said this should have happened earlier in the process.
“This is what it should have been last week,” he said. “No 11th hour thing, no emotional arguments, no ‘if you don’t support this you hate people’,” he said. “I hope we use this as a learning experience for future decisions.”
But Coun. Natalie Harris said she had no problem amending the budget a week ago by adding this project.
“I think highlighting the 11th hour on such an important issue, it’s not the 11th hour,” she said. “I get it, this proposal is new but we were discussing the budget last week and we had one week to finalize it this week. At the end of the day, what really matters is we move forward.”
Coun. Mike McCann said he wasn’t happy with the process, either.
“I found this process extremely frustrating,” he said. “I think I’ve never been clearer on my opinions of not getting information… and voting on a project of $3 million with zero information.
“Are social media and news headlines really running this council? And that has really kind of made me sick to my stomach. We are not approving anything tonight but more information, is that correct?”
“Yes, we are looking for more information, but to me, and the intention here, is that we are making a solid commitment to making the best project that’s possible on this site,” Aylwin said. “We know there’s a need. This is a property the city owns and it's been sitting vacant for quite a while and I think we need to seize the opportunity and really look at what’s out there in terms of possibilities and get the proper information before we make that final decision, and also engage the community in the process.
“That’s the intention here. We are committed to this project,” he added.
Coun. Robert Thomson didn’t see a council commitment to quite that extent.
“We’re concrete on doing something on this site, but what that looks like will be based on consultation with providers,” he said. “But actually nothing is being approved other than the remediation of the land, tonight, without consultation from our housing providers and with staff. That’s how I interpret this.
“To say nothing is going to happen here I think isn’t fair,” Thomson added. “I think this motion actually says something will happen. Now what that looks like is why all the other information is needed.”
McCann had one more question.
“Do we have the ability to say no to this project before we spend any other money than the $500,000 that’s allocated for the soil remediation?” he asked
“Yes,” Lehman said.
“If it goes over the allotted amount, we’d have to come back to council,” Thomson said. “There’s not an unlimited ceiling on a motion that says approximately $3 million.”
The vote was unanimous in favour of adding the supportive modular housing project to this year’s city budget.
The soil remediation is expected to take at least six months. Environmental studies have been done on the site to determine its development potential. They found some remediation will be necessary prior to redevelopment; the existing soil condition is not ideal for supporting heavy loads, according to a city staff report, which also notes the ground water depth is between 1.3 and 3.4 metres below the surface.
This project’s proximity to an old landfill site, historical uses associated with the fire hall, filling of the land and a former transformer could also be factors with the soil remediation.
If this project is approved and is debt-financed, it will add to the city’s forecast debt levels. They are $318 million this year, $313 million next year, $294 million in 2023, $301 million in 2024, and $305 million in 2025.
A factor in this development could also be funding for a similar project involving Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC's) Rapid Housing Initiative. The $1-billion program is to address vulnerable Canadians’ urgent housing needs, especially during the pandemic — through rapid construction of affordable housing.
The County of Simcoe has indicated Barrie, Orillia and Midland should get some of whatever federal funding it receives for new projects. Two types of Barrie projects are being considered, one being the purchase and conversion of an existing building which could quickly be converted to housing.
If funding for that project is approved, it might make the Vespra Street project unnecessary - but a decision on the Rapid Housing Initiative funding isn’t expected until February.
Lehman said the Vespra Street project isn’t eligible for Rapid Housing Initiative funding.
