The Government of Canada has added more properties to its list of federal properties it is hoping to turn into new homes, and it includes a property in Windsor.
The Canada Public Land Bank, launched on Sunday, features 56 federal properties across Canada that have been identified as being able to support housing.
The former Canada Post distribution facility at 4910 Tecumseh Rd. E. near Princess Avenue, not far from Pillette Road, is on the list.
Windsor-Tecumseh Liberal M-P Irek Kusmierzyk told AM800's The Dan MacDonald Show that the old Canada Post building has been vacant for years.
"We think it's a great place to be able to build housing on a transit route, near shops, near stores, and near schools. That property has been identified as most readily available to convert to housing, it's on a fast track, so we're looking for partners to help bring that reality to life," he says.
Kusmierzyk says that the Canada Public Land Bank will be a one-stop shop for surplus federal land that could be used for housing.
"There were 56 federal surplus properties that were listed. In total, it's around 300 hectares of land, which is about the size of 2,000 hockey rinks," he says.
The current list includes properties in 28 municipalities in seven provinces but will grow over time through an ongoing review of underused or vacant federal land and buildings.
Kusmierzyk says they don't want to sell the land; they're looking at long-term leases with a developer.
"It means the federal government still owns the land, which means that we still have a say or control over the property," he says. "Because of that, we can make sure that it remains affordable, that there are affordable units in there, not just for the short term but for the long term as well."
Public Service and Procurement Canada was being directed to reduce its office portfolio by 50 percent in April's federal budget as it looked to cut costs under the hybrid work model for public servants.
Repurposing unused public lands is part of a strategy the government hopes will address the high costs and limited availability of housing across the country.
