PTBOCanada Featured Post: Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region Steps Up For Community With Leahy's Lane Affordable Housing
/Like many communities across Ontario, the city of Peterborough is continuing to grow at a steady pace. With the recent completion of the 407 extension to Highway 115, our area is becoming more and more attractive to commuters from larger city centers.
As such, new developments seem like they’re popping up everywhere, and as they do, prices of local homes are continuing to rise. These sudden increases in property values are making life difficult for those looking to enter the market as a first-time home buyer, and the market doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon.
For lower income working residents, it seems like renting is the only option, and even that is becoming harder to come by throughout our community as rental rates continue to become inflated as well. You don’t have to be a professional analyst to see that the gap between rental housing and market ownership is continuing to widen.
Leahy’s Lane mockup courtesy Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region
While the call for affordable housing has gone out consistently, keeping up with the demand has proven difficult in our for-profit driven society.
Were it not for our local Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region stepping up to the plate and putting in the necessary work to make a difference the dream of owning a home for lower income earners would be just that, a dream. Thankfully, their efforts have made a positive impact on our community, and their next project is going to be their biggest yet!
Photo courtesy Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region
Habitat Peterborough has always offered families and individuals a hand-up, not a hand-out, by providing a geared to income mortgage and requiring no down payment. Their decent, affordable homes can be found throughout the city, helping bridge the gap between rental housing and market ownership one build at a time. While these have all made an impact, it’s their next build that will make the largest to date.
33 Leahy’s Lane, located in the North East part of Peterborough, is set to house a 41 unit fully accessible affordable condominium with a mixture of options for individuals, couples, seniors, and even families. The building will have 1, 2, and 3-bedroom options available, with mortgage payments being geared to income. To be considered for ownership of one of the units, which include major appliances such as a refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, washer, and dryer, household income must fall between $30,000 and $82,000.
Current Habitat family from another build (photo courtesy Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region)
The building will feature a fully universal design to accommodate current or future homeowners’ accessibility needs, with an elevator, party room, and basement storage units available. The new build will be energy-efficient, helping reduce the cost of utilities for residents, with natural gas heating and air conditioning which each owner will be responsible for.
A list of FAQs is available to shed more light on the new development here.
Standing in storage basement being constructed (Photo courtesy Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region)
