City Council supports conditional funding for several proposed housing projects

Seniors, women, children, families, vulnerable individuals and new immigrants looking for housing may soon have more options in Lethbridge. 

Through the Affordable and Social Housing Capital Fund, Lethbridge City Council on Tuesday conditionally approved several capital funding requests that would result in the development of 112 housing units, 82 of which would be held at affordable rates. 

“While for many years there has been debate as to which level of Government is responsible for housing, in recent years there has been more or less an acknowledgement that all levels of government need to be involved,” says Mayor Blaine Hyggen, who is also Chair of the Economic & Finance SPC. “As such, the City of Lethbridge has become more involved with the updating of the Municipal Housing Strategy, approving a Housing Solutions Coordinator and seeing a high degree of success with an Affordable and Social Housing Capital Grant. Having a coordinated approach to housing allows us to make better decisions to actually move the needle for our community.” 

The conditional funding approvals were based on unanimous recommendations from the Economic & Finance Standing Policy Committee at its February 13 meeting: 

• More than $1.1 million to the Green Acres Foundation for 56 units (all affordable) targeting seniors within a mixed-use development. The project’s total budget is more than $22 million 
• $500,000 to MyCity Care for 40 units (12 affordable) targeting women, children, families and vulnerable individuals within a mixed-market development. The project’s total budget is $12.9 million
• Nearly $210,000 to the SettleEase Canada Foundation for 16 units (14 affordable) targeting new immigrants with short-tenure housing. The project’s total budget is nearly $6.2 million 

“Being able to leverage Municipal funding with dollars from the Federal and Provincial Governments has already proven to be a successful formula for several ongoing projects. Through each dollar invested, we have seen a nearly $13 return,” says Matthew Pitcher, Housing Solutions Coordinator. “With these conditional approvals, Council is also supporting housing projects with diverse target demographics and priority populations identified in our Municipal Housing Strategy. This is a major leap forward.” 

Each project’s conditions include: 

• Securement of the balance of project funding on or before June 30, 2026 
• Securement of funding from provincial or federal sources equal to or exceeding the municipal contribution 
• Successful acquisition of a development permit for the project 

These conditional approvals contemplate the full allocation of available funding in the Affordable and Social Housing Capital Fund. While each project is different in scale, timing, progress to date, and target population, all align with the overarching goals of the City’s updated Municipal Housing Strategy. 

Council’s decision prioritizes applications deemed most ‘shovel-ready’, based on several factors such as land securement, housing sector experience and financial viability/funding.  

Each organization is at a different stage of project readiness based on land status. The Green Acres Foundation has secured and zoned land; MyCity Care has land secured conditional to successful re-zoning, which is underway; and the SettleEase Canada Foundation has conditionally secured one of three sites required for their scattered-site project, conditional to re-zoning. 

As the BIPOC Foundation has yet to secure land, Administration will continue working with them to explore alternative opportunities and mechanisms to support their proposed project.  

Despite funds being fully (conditionally) allocated, Administration continues to work with organizations to support their housing projects through other methods.