Habitats Factory Build appears to have lost its funding - project is stalled - Habitat senior staff have lost their tongues - never a good sign.

By Pepper Parr

July 3rd, 2018

BURLINGTON, ON

It was heralded as a really significant event. All the big shots were in the room for the announcement.

Halton Habitat for Humanity had managed to convince the provincial government to pony up $5.8 million for the creation of what was being called a Factory Build operation.

By Factory Build the people making the announcement were saying that there would be a structure where homes could be pre-built and shipped to the site where they would be assembled.

This approach would allow Habitat to improve the number of homes they could build significantly.

The idea was brought back to Burlington by Ed McMahon who has been involved with Habitat for some time. Ed McMahon had seen a Factory Build operation in Edmonton and wanted to see something like this in Burlington.

It was described as an innovative approach to partnering with local community-based initiatives led by Habitat for Humanity. They were going to increase the supply and meet the growing demand for safe and affordable homes in the province.

There was a three-year, $5.8 Million commitment from the province.

Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring, Regional Chair Gary Carr and then MPP Ted McMeekin were in hand to celebrate the announcement of the provincial funding for the Habitat initiative.

The Build Factory was to be located in Burlington where they would construct and assemble homes year-round in a controlled environment. This facility will engage with local community partners including educational institutions, and other not for profit organizations. Components for safe, decent and affordable homes will be assembled and transported to as many as 120 Habitat for Humanity construction sites across Ontario, with the opportunity to also provide housing for Indigenous communities.

“The Build Factory is a ground breaking achievement for our organization and for the province,” said  Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga CEO John Gerrard. For every dollar invested, Habitat for Humanity generates $4 in social return. This three-year investment by the province of Ontario will increase the supply of affordable housing long-term, expand community partnerships, increase engagement and create capacity and scale for the non-profit housing sector.

Things were looking great for Habitat.

In the dying days of the provincial campaign the Gazette did a lengthy interview with then MPP Eleanor McMahon, she and Ed are brother and sister, who explained the process that the funding application went through.

We didn’t publish hat interview because the day after the then Premier Kathleen Wynne basically through in the towel saying that the Liberals were not going to win the election.

Eleanor McMahon, who was President of the Treasury Board, wasn’t going to have that job which meant the interview served no purpose.  McMahon’s job at the time was to at least get herself elected.  She lost her seat to Jane McKenna.

Habitat for Humanity Executive Director John Gerrard delegated to city council about a problem the organization was having with their retail operation on Appleby Line; there was some discussion on where the proposed Factory Build could be located.

There weren’t that many sites in Burlington where this kind of operation could be located.

Frank McKeown, who was the Executive Director of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation took part in that discussion and got involved in the search for a location. McKeown resigned from his job at the end of June. His decision to resign had been announced six weeks earlier.

A very reliable sourced told the Gazette recently that the funding everyone thought was approved didn’t make it through the final stages.

Habitat CEO John Gerrard

The Gazette placed calls to both Gerrard the Habitat CEO and Eric Wickham the Communications Advisor for Habitat. Our calls were not returned. Several attempts were made to reach both people with voice mail messages left each time.

There was no response.

With a new government in place at Queen’s Park many projects are in a bit of a limbo.

The information the Gazette was given was that the cheque everyone thought was “in the mail” wasn’t in the mail.

Without the funding the project wasn’t going anywhere.

The Gazette will continue to dig away at this one.