In the first people’s community of Fort Chipewyan in Northern Alberta, Canada, the manufactured housing cavalry is coming to the rescue to solve a housing shortage.
According to the CBC, sixteen manufactured homes are on their way to the community, to tackle a chronic overcrowding challenge that has families living with other relatives.
“The first six homes will be delivered via the community’s winter road in March, and the remaining 10 will be delivered by barge in the spring,” said Ed Shirran, an acting director with the Wood Buffalo Housing Development Corporation.
The corporation already owns two single-family homes and a 12-unit seniors facility in Fort Chipewyan.
The homes being delivered were originally used to house people displaced by the 2011 Slave Lake fire. In September of last year, the province announced it would send 65 manufactured homes to Fort McMurray to help house people who lost their homes during the May wildfire.
The wildfire destroyed over 2,400 homes and buildings. The Daily Business News provided extensive coverage of the fires, which is linked here.
The homes, designated as rentals, were priced between $2,500 to $2,650 each, and were positioned as such, due to an anticipated high demand for three- and four-bedroom rental accommodations in Fort McMurray after the wildfire.
The program was eventually shelved because of a lack of need, and two residents who lost their homes during the wildfire said that those homes were overpriced and they were better off finding market rentals anyway.
A Voice From the Community
Mikisew Cree First Nation Chief Steve Courtoreille welcomes the homes to the Fort Chipewyan community, and says that they are a long time coming. Courtoreille said that he has called on the Wood Buffalo Housing Development Corporation and the province to address the lack of housing in the community in the past.
“It took the fire for them to hear our voices,” said Courtoreille.
“I hope the housing corporation doesn’t make the same mistake as in Fort McMurray, charging high rents for the homes. If they try to do that here, it’s going to sit empty,” said Courtoreille.
“Don’t overcharge.”
Shirran says that the Wood Buffalo Housing Development Corporation still does not know how much it will cost to rent the homes, because it is still working out the details with the province. But Shirran is certain about one thing.
“The prices will be below market rates,” said Shirran. ##
(Image credits are as shown above.)
Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News, MHProNews
