The provincial government is providing $10 million in grant funding to the Business Council of Manitoba to build affordable housing.
The Collaborative Housing Alliance Real Estate Investment Trust, developed by the business council, aims to convert and renovate existing buildings and build new units. The one-time grant funding will cover the startup costs of the trust, allow the business council to solicit other investors and buy or build at least three new housing projects in the next year.
Once launched, the trust would use resources from private, public and non-profit organizations to create “a scalable and sustainable investment platform for non-market housing in Manitoba that is protected from market forces,” a news release said.
“Today marks another significant step forward in our collective efforts to end chronic homelessness,” Premier Wab Kinew said in the release. “This funding will work to create more affordable housing across Manitoba. We’re proud to partner with the big-hearted business community to put people on a path to home ownership.”
Kinew held a news conference Tuesday morning along with Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith and business council chairman Mike Pyle.
“Addressing the housing crisis in Manitoba is a shared responsibility that requires close collaboration between the public, non-profit and private sectors,” Smith said in the release. “Together, we can make a difference.”
fpcity@freepress.mb.ca