A city councillor is thrilled with what he's calling a "historic investment" by Windsor council.
Just over $170-million has been approved as part of a long-term initiative with the County of Essex and the federal government to repair and build social and affordable housing.
Councillor Fabio Costante sits on the Windsor-Essex Community Housing Corporation Board and says an investment of this size is going to help change the lives of thousands of local families.
"I can't recall, and I stand to be corrected, the last time council approved $170-million for social and affordable housing in our community. It's exciting when you look at the prospects of housing and the opportunities for housing," he says. "A lot of it will go to repair and renew, some of it will go to building new stock."
Windsor city councillor Fabio Costante on May 6, 2019 (Photo by AM800's Zander Broeckel)
Costante says this is a major step forward in the fight to secure housing for the region's most vulnerable.
"This is meeting a critical need in our community and there's a distinction between social housing and affordable housing. Both categories, in our community, are in great need. These are the types of decisions that, to me, are the ones that I'm most excited about and most proud of as a council," he says.
Costante says the plan will be rolled out over the next seven or more years.
"What you're going to find is there's going to be a lot of energy retrofits and making these units a lot more affordable. So it's a huge much needed improvement. It's just like anybody owning their own home. You can't let it sit for many, many decades without doing improvements to the roof, to the windows, to the doors," he says.
There are currently more than 5,000 families on the waiting list for social and affordable housing in Windsor-Essex.
With files from Rob Hindi