Joint Government Funding Increases Affordable Housing in Calgary

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Aug. 9, 2012) - Seniors, families and persons with disabilities in Calgary have more affordable housing options thanks to investments of more than $4.1 million at Victoria Gardens through the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta.

Victoria Gardens is celebrating its official opening today. This 34 unit three-story energy-efficient affordable housing development in Calgary, contains 18 one and 16 two-bedroom units of which four are barrier-free. These units help accommodate seniors, low-income families and people with disabilities.

The Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Wayne Cao, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Fort, made the announcement today.

"Our Government is committed to giving a hand up to those who need it most, including here in Alberta", said Minister Ablonczy. "That's why we have invested in the construction of these 34 new units in Calgary, to provide safe, affordable homes for even more vulnerable seniors."

"Through our strategic capital funding partnerships, the Alberta government is increasing the affordable housing supply," said Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths. "We made a promise to help vulnerable Albertans, and we're keeping it by adding more than 12,000 units across the province. This will help our local partners to address waitlists - and assist families with children, seniors and those most-in-need to have a stable place to call home."

"Victoria Gardens, a 34 unit affordable rental housing project nestled in the community of Montgomery, is the result of successful collaboration between the public and private sectors. The energy efficient building enhances the visual character of the street, contributing to the renewal and revitalization trend taking place in the community of Montgomery" said Riyaz Virani, President of Narisa Developments.

The federal and provincial governments are contributing equally to an overall investment of $238 million, over two years, under the amended Canada-Alberta Affordable Housing Program Agreement and through Canada's Economic Action Plan.

Non-profit organizations, private businesses and municipalities were eligible to apply for funding through Alberta's Affordable Housing Request for Proposals which leveraged government funding with private-sector dollars. Successful applicants received funding to purchase or build affordable housing units, renovate existing rental units, develop secondary units in private homes or support other options as identified by the community.

The Government of Canada, through CMHC, will invest more than $2 billion in housing this year. Of this amount, $1.7 billion will be spent in support of almost 605,000 households living in existing social housing. In Alberta, this represents some 38,400 households. These investments are improving the quality of life for low-income Canadians and households living in existing social housing, including individuals who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness, seniors, persons with disabilities, recent immigrants and Aboriginal people.

Through partnership with federal and municipal governments, community groups, the non-profit and private sectors, Alberta has made great strides to increase the supply of affordable housing across the province. Since 2003, the Government of Alberta has supported the development of 16,000 affordable housing units for homeless and lower-income Albertans through capital grant funding in 62 communities. For more information on Alberta's housing support, visit www.housing.alberta.ca.

Narisa Developments is a Calgary based residential construction company. Its vision is to build affordable energy conscious, high quality, multi-residential buildings in Calgary's Established Communities, providing value to both residents and their communities.

To find out more about how the Government of Canada and CMHC are working to build stronger homes and communities for all Canadians, call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642 or visit www.cmhc.ca.