By Pepper Parr
January 15th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The builders like it.
Federal MPs Pam Damoff and Karina Gould announced the City of Burlington will receive $21 million in Federal Funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund.
This funding will assist Burlington with their ambitious housing pledge of building 29,000 new homes over the next decade. Through CMHC, the Housing Accelerator Fund provides incentive funding to Burlington that is tied to the number of new housing starts the municipality can facilitate.
Downtown core development – nothing affordable about these two developments on Lakeshore Road and Martha. ADI on the right is nearing completion, Carriage Gate on the left is just a hole in the ground.
CMHC states the funding is to support “the development of complete, low-carbon and climate-resilient communities that are affordable, inclusive, equitable and diverse”.
The West End Home Builder’s Association (WE HBA) welcomes this federal investment in Burlington. “The City of Burlington and the development industry have been working under a renewed close partnership to facilitate the more than doubling our current rates of housing construction with a strong focus on bringing more units from the development pipeline through to the permit process.” noted CEO Mike Collins-Williams.
“This is a monumental task that requires collaboration between all three levels of government and the private sector. WE HBA is pleased to see the federal government coming to the table a significant amount of money to help us collectively facilitate the construction of significantly more homes”.
Burlington’s housing supply crisis means too many people are unable to find a home that meets their needs and budget. Addressing this crisis means ensuring more supply is built and is readily available. The Federal Housing Accelerator Fund will help fund infrastructure and remove barriers to the construction of new housing units.
ADI development nearing completion.
Carriage Gate development next to ADI development is just a hole on the ground. Nothing affordable about either development.
“The federal dollars will enable the City of Burlington to accelerate planning and permit approvals and upgrade infrastructure for new home construction in Burlington” WE HBA CEO Mike Collins-Williams noted. “This will enable our members to deliver on the ambitious city objective of 29,000 newly constructed homes over the next ten years.” The announcement will help set Burlington on the right path for ensuring more Burlingtonians can find a place to live, work, and raise a family.
Only time will tell if the federal money (that came from the pockets of taxpayers) will make a difference. At this point Burlington doesn’t have much in the way of shovels in the ground.
Later today we expect there will be an announcement from the Mayor on how this new money will be put to work.
I had this in the back of my mind but couldn’t remember it exactly, thank you Mr Internet.
A civilization which leaves so large a number of its participants unsatisfied and drives them into revolt neither has nor deserves the prospect of a lasting existence.” – Sigmund Freud
94% of Canadians live in market driven housing worth an estimated $4 trillion the Feds are investing $78 billion to encourage new housing development, that’s a total investment of 2%. So not an investment then!
Property development is a business, they borrow money to invest in a project that gives a return of on investment that’s what businesses do.
The major banks are warning of a continued decrease in real GDP per capita in Canada, unlike others in the G7 (Canada is at a 4% retraction) 2023 in Q3, with weak investment in industry and an economy sustaining itself on domestic sale’s the outlook for renters is pretty dismal. (One rent increase away from needing assistance)
The boom in Burlington homes will probably be sustained by even more people moving here from Toronto. Double digit property taxes on $3m homes will make them move out.
The 1-million new Canadians who were promised a better life won’t thank you if they are living in shelters and living off handouts it will breed long term resentment, better to just stop all immigration and work on getting Canada back into profitable territory. Trudeau and his ministers are continuously being advised by the BOC and major banks we are in trouble, handing out shiny beads and mirrors ain’t gonna cut it.
Three quarters of a million dollars for approximately 550 sqare feet of living space…..hardly affordable! And why in the downtown core? Isn’t the congestion bad enough already along the lakeshore? Why not build closer to the highways or could they not charge as much as buildings with lake views?
The question is will any of the homes be “affordable” homes which is what our federal government should be ensuring are subsidised with our $21 million federal tax dollars, not luxury condos.