Following the completion of their Cityview Village project in 2021, which brought affordable housing to 22 families in the Guelph area, Habitat for Humanity Guelph Wellington has been working hard to continue delivering local opportunities for affordable homeownership.
“We have been working diligently since our last project on the procurement of land and project design for our upcoming builds,” says Ryan Deska, Director of Community Engagement and Development at Habitat for Humanity Guelph Wellington.
“We have two properties and two projects that are in the works and we're very close to moving full steam ahead.” The properties Habitat for Humanity Guelph Wellington is looking at are located in Fergus and Guelph.
They are also exploring a third property in Guelph-Eramosa Township in partnership with Ignatius Jesuit Centre. While this is a promising project that would see the creation of 75-plus affordable homes, the project is currently facing some hurdles surrounding planning approvals. They are currently in conversation with township representatives with a view to reaching an accord on zoning amendments.
In order to maximize their impact, and to continue providing the opportunity for affordable homeownership to individuals and families in the community, there will be challenges the Habitat team will have to overcome.
“We face a lot of the same challenges that anyone building a home today would face - the rising cost of land and building materials, access to skilled labour, etc. In addition, as a charitable organization, we don't have capital assets or huge cash reserves on hand to purchase land.”
One strategy to address rising construction costs and to maximize the number of families served is to provide a mix of market and Habitat sales. Between the two projects, there will be roughly 35 Habitat units and 30 market units sold.
Additionally, beginning this year, Habitat for Humanity Guelph Wellington will also be issuing Community Bonds that will allow grassroots community investment in all future Habitat projects.
“Community Bonds are an investment strategy for socially conscious investors looking to create an impact in their community through their investment portfolio,” says Deska. “It's a way for community members to be active contributors to the future strength and prosperity of their community, with a financially secure return on their investments.”
These Community Bonds provide:
• Investors with a fixed rate of return over a defined term of the project.
• Organizations like Habitat for Humanity with seed financing to get their projects off the ground.
• Investors and Community Organizations the opportunity to partner in creating meaningful social impacts in the community.
“We're all feeling the challenges of affordable housing on some level, whether it's ourselves or our children who are entering the workforce and looking to buy a house in their community. It's a challenging time as an organization to be fundraising for something that we're all feeling the pressure from in one way or another,” says Deska.
“We believe Community Bonds provide an attractive opportunity for more people to invest and support the work we do”.
Anyone interested in being issued a Community Bond can get in touch with Habitat for Humanity Guelph Wellington for a 15-minute phone call to discuss.
“We’re not trying to rush people into a commitment. We want everyone to have as much information as possible before making this investment decision. We believe the Community Bond offering is competitive and secure. It’s our intention for these community bonds to become a tool we can use in the future for things like the up-front purchase of land.”
Habitat for Humanity will also be hosting ongoing community presentations and webinars to discuss their plans, and encourage people to sign up online to stay up to date.
Anyone curious in finding out more ways to support the builds can contact Ryan at [email protected].
Wondering if you’re eligible to apply for a home with Habitat for Humanity?
Interested individuals and families can go online to find out more and to complete the Eligibility Questionnaire to be considered. Those deemed eligible will be contacted and invited to complete a full application.