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Ground could soon be broken on the first of many affordable homes at the site of a former east London elementary school.
On the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting of city council’s community and protective services committee is a contract award to Wastell Developments Inc. to build two buildings with 100 combined affordable units at the site of the former St. Robert’s elementary school at 1958 Duluth Cr., near the Clarke Road-Trafalgar Street intersection.
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The school closed in 2018 and the land was snatched up by the city in 2020, with the intention to use the lot for affordable housing. Last year, the city approved a subdivision plan in multiple phases.
“It has been quite a few years now since the school was closed down and the land has been sitting vacant and unused,” said Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, whose ward includes the land.
“I know there’s a lot of processes to jump through to get us there, but (I’m) just happy that we’ve hit this milestone where we’re ready to to move forward with the first partner on the first set of builds.”
The plan for the new neighbourhood envisions 14 townhouse units, two single detached homes, and 200 apartment units across five buildings, plus a 0.28-hectare park.
Housing will be accessed from Duluth Crescent, which will be extended to Admiral Drive. A staff report outlines that $1.8 million has been spent to prepare the site, including demolishing the school.
Both buildings would be four storeys, with one dedicated to 44 units of “single occupancy units.” The other would have 56 units with a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three -bedroom apartments, the city staff report states. The units would be rented at 80 per cent of market rate.
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It’s part of the city’s goal of 3,000 affordable units, which leverages city-owned land and offers grants to guarantee affordable housing. The contract looks to ink a 25-year agreement between the city and Wastell Homes to secure the affordable housing.
A representative of Wastell declined to comment, citing the outstanding approval of the contract, but expressed enthusiasm the project could potentially move ahead.
The city offers $45,000 grants per unit for affordable units, and is looking to secure $2.3 million in provincial funding to help build the project.
City staff also express a desire for the use of strong mayor powers in the future to speed up awarding affordable housing contracts, in order to meet deadlines for federal and provincial funds.
The project will return for council approval in order to obtain building permits, and the report details that the extension of Duluth Crescent will take place in early 2025.
Also part of the goal for 3,000 affordable units, city hall is working on or has completed several projects on its land, including supportive housing at 403 Thompson Rd., 122 Base Line Rd. W., 345 Sylvan Street, and 1364-1408 Hyde Park Rd.
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