The federal government announced the development of 136 new affordable housing units in Upper Hammonds Plains Saturday.
The project, known as the Upper Hammonds Plains Housing Co-operative, is part of the Co-operative Housing Development Program which the government says is the largest federal investment in new co-op housing development in more than 30 years, with $1.5 billion in funding.
The new co-op will be located at 195 Equestrian Lane and is designed to preserve and enhance African Nova Scotia culture in addition to providing safe and affordable homes.
“This groundbreaking shows what grassroots, community-led organizing can do: deliver transformational projects and non-market homes that stay affordable for generations, insulated from market turbulence,” Curtis Whiley, founder and president of the Upper Hammonds Plains Community Land Trust, said in a press release. “We incubated the UHPHC so residents participate in the governance, the decisions, and the future of this community asset.”
Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore said the co-op will also include 29 fully accessible units.
The co-op has received more than $61 million in funding from the federal government.
“The federal government has a strong role to play in building non-market housing to provide more affordable housing options for Canadians, and this includes co-operative housing,” Braedon Clark, Member of Parliament for Sackville—Bedford—Preston, said in a press release. “This project shows how co-ops can provide affordable, inclusive, and sustainable homes that respond directly to local needs.”
The housing co-operative is expected to be completed by spring 2027.
