Meadowbrook-Strathcona Councillor, Jeff McLaren, hopes to address the housing crisis by developing additional co-operative homes.
Kingston, ON. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Councillor Jeff McLaren is seeking Council approval to be appointed to the development board of Limestone City Co-operative Housing, a soon-to-be incorporated not-for-profit housing co-operative. His goal is to address the housing crisis through the development of additional co-operative homes, believing this approach to be the best way to facilitate the creation of more mixed income affordable housing in the city.
“There are so many benefits to co-operative housing,” he says.
Councillor McLaren continues, stating that, “with Council putting me on the board, a partnership between the municipality and a community organization can be formed that can unlock provincial and federal seed funding which would not otherwise be available without this partnership.”
“In addition to increased funding availability, a mixture of socio-economic groups within the same area will build a shared living experience and understanding. Further, since a portion of these units will be available at market rates, the costs of maintaining housing expenses at below market rates can be mitigated. In essence, market rates will offset the costs of offering rent-geared-to-income units to qualified individuals. This means that affordable housing can be made secure as well as sustainable.”
“Co-ops also provide an internal safety net. For example, if someone loses their job, they can move to a rent-geared-to-income model until they find alternate employment. Another great advantage is community building. Co-ops require a minimum of volunteer time for the betterment of the co-op, which both encourages a sense of pride and community through self-governance and working toward a common cause, while also lowering ongoing operating costs.”
A special thanks to Peter Tobias from Viner, Kennedy, Frederick, Allan & Tobias LLP for his time spent reviewing the documentation required to incorporate and to law clerk and paralegal student, Ashely Perna, for her very generous contribution to amassing the documents needed to form the organization.
Limestone City Co-operative Housing is the first of hopefully many housing co-ops.
“I hope to keep building as long as land and seed money is available.”
Visit www.lcch.ca to learn more.