Non-profit looks to address housing needs in Spryfield area

About a third of the units in a new 48-unit housing development announced earlier this week by the Nova Scotia government will be deeply affordable.

The Spryfield Social Enterprise and Affordable Housing Society was one of three recipients in Halifax Regional Municipality of unused provincial land announced Monday as part of a program aimed at spurring housing development.

The development, the largest of the three Halifax-area projects, will include 15 units considered deeply affordable because the rents will be 80 per cent of the area market rate or lower.

The building will include some fully-accessible units and also commercial space on up to four hectares of land near the community of Herring Cove.

Bruce Holland, one of the society's directors, said the society could make the project work because they're getting the land for a nominal fee and because they don't need to turn a profit.

"We're just looking to cover the cost associated with building the project and supporting the mortgage on the building and paying the yearly operating costs," he said.

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For years, the Spryfield area has been considered an affordable option for people on fixed incomes or trying to buy their first home. But Holland said that is changing just as it has in other places, with demand outstripping supply and some homes selling for double what they did just a few years ago.

"It's dramatic, and it makes it hard for those people who are on fixed incomes or low incomes to try and find housing."

Holland and fellow society director Marshall Smith have ties to the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, but Holland, who is also a former Liberal MLA, said the society's application was successful not because of anyone's connection to the government but because of the merits of the proposal.

"I have had no direct call to anyone to make this happen. The need is there and the strength of our application is there."

A spokesperson for the provincial government said in a statement that although members of the development team were identified as part of their submission, the recommendation department staff advanced to Housing Minister John Lohr only identified the applicant as a non-profit in good standing with the registry of joint stocks.

Although the land the society is getting has room for further development, Holland said the focus now is the current project. He said the society hopes to break ground in six months and for the project to be complete 18 months after that.

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