The North End United Housing Co-operative will see renovations and retrofits to its 131 affordable housing units through a $3.1 million program split by the provincial and federal governments.
Repairs will target roofs, windows and other areas to make them more sustainable and durable.
The money comes from a $128 million joint poverty reduction fund announced last year.
“It’ll be there for years and years to come. So really it’s good, solid affordable housing for the next generation, but also jobs for the current generation because that provides a lot of jobs for different contractors across Halifax and through Nova Scotia,” said Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit MP Scott Armstrong.
Homelessness advocate Wayne MacNaughton said he was happy with the announcement, but it’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the growing need for affordable housing.
“It seems to be taking quite a long time for them to roll out that $128 million,” he said.
“So I’m glad to see they’re doing some of that today, but when are they going to be taking care of the rest.
“We could be building a lot more units in HRM, for example, or beyond. From one end of the province to the other we’ve seen all kinds of problems … there’s a huge need and the need is growing.”
Provincial Community Services Minister Denise Peterson-Rafuse said that $60 million of the fund has been spent so far on housing projects in areas including Halifax, Port Hawkesbury, Middleton and Amherst.
