The City of Windsor is getting more affordable housing units.
On Tuesday, the federal and provincial governments announced the $3.3-million project which will include 15 units and will be located at 1106 Ouellette Avenue.
The two storey building will be converted into permanent housing units and was a former medical office, previously owned by Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.
Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie says five of the units will be for rent geared to income and 10 are affordable housing.
He says the project is critical to help reduce homelessness and provide housing stability for those who need it most.
Dowie says three of the units will be barrier free along with the common areas.
"You're going to have a mix of units in most developments because you can always bring each other up as neighbours," says Dowie. "It's important that we have a diversity of units that are available so that we can make a complete community, that we aren't keeping people who are struggling altogether without support. You can leverage support of your neighbours and friends when you have a complete neighbourhood."
Outside of 1106 Ouellette Avenue, July 11, 2023 (Photo by AM800's Rob Hindi)
He says Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare sold the building to The Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation.
"Not only this building but many of the buildings on this block are still owned by Hôtel-Dieu Grace, they're leasing the site to Windsor Regional so they have the ownership, they learned of this project and they decided to make a voluntary contribution," he says. "So it was the property as well as a financial contribution to make sure that this actually saw the light of day."
Along with the building, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare also contributed approximately $350,000 towards the project.
Work is currently underway to convert the building and is expected to wrap up in late 2024.
The Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation took over the site in 2021 and will be overseeing the conversion.