Places for People (P4P) has wrapped up its inaugural community bonds program, successfully raising $850,000 – money that president, Jody Curry, says will help the organization bring more affordable housing to Haliburton County.
Speaking to The Highlander ahead of P4P’s annual general meeting Dec. 6, Curry said the bonds program sold out in less than three months. She noted this was a new record completion time for Tapestry Community Capital – the Torontobased firm that assisted with the investment drive.
Haliburton County Development Corporation was the first to purchase a bond on July 10, and bookended the effort by picking up a second bond – the last available – on Oct. 3. Curry said 81 bonds were sold to 71 unique investors.
There were three options available – Series A for investments of at least $1,000 locked in for three years, earning three per cent interest paid annually; Series B, which was a minimum of $5,000 locked in for five years, earning four per cent interest; or Series C, which was $10,000 locked in for seven years, earning five per cent interest.
Curry noted Series A investments totalled $93,000, Series B was $205,000, and Series C was $552,000.
“This was a great success. We’re very happy and feel this program puts us on a very good financial footing to move forward,” Curry said. “To all the people who helped get us to the point we are today: thank you.”
Curry noted the bonds are secured by P4P’s existing assets, which she says are valued at around $2.5 million.
The money will be used to clear a handful of existing mortgages and private loans. Asked how this will help P4P bring additional housing units to the Highlands, Curry indicated it will improve the organization’s position for borrowing should any opportunities arise.
“The way I like to describe it is, it makes everything look nice and neat and tidy on our books. We had little bits of money owing against all our buildings – those are now gone. So, when we go to borrow bigger dollars from bigger groups or organizations, or the government, for things we’re working on, we do have some unfettered equity,” she said.
P4P owns and operates five properties across Haliburton County, with 12 affordable housing units. Curry said the non-profit is aiming to more than double its inventory in the coming years, noting “we have a lot of plans in the works.”
Chief among those is a potential joint commercial and residential development fronting County Road 21 off Peninsula Drive. Paul Wilson, owner of Harburn Holdings, pledged one of four lots fronting Grass Lake to P4P last year. A proposal to develop the property has been supported by Dysart et al and Haliburton County councils but has been appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal. An initial meeting was held Dec. 11, with a three-week hearing scheduled for November 2024.
Curry said P4P hopes to build 16 new units there. The commercial space will be rented out, generating income the non-profit can use to subsidize accommodations and offer them at below market rates. Should this project proceed, Curry said another bonds program is likely, with the build expected to cost millions.
The organization is also looking for opportunities to invest in existing rental units, like it did when purchasing a five-plex in Carnarvon in October 2022.
“That would make sure units that are currently in place don’t go by the wayside. We are on the lookout for things like that, because right now it’s much cheaper to buy existing buildings and renovate them than it is to build new,” Curry said.
