On Sept. 7, representatives of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region and Places for People erected a sign just off of Peninsula Road in Haliburton announcing a partnership to build affordable condos at the site.
It’s part of Paul Wilson’s Harburn Holdings project, following Wilson’s promise to donate some of the land for affordable housing.
The two housing providers revealed their official collaboration last week, and will hold an information session Sept. 18 for contractors, potential homeowners, renters, and the public from 3-7 p.m. at the Haliburton Legion.
Zambonin was reluctant to discuss the Peninsula Road project in detail, saying more would be revealed next week.
However, she did say, “this partnership will allow Habitat to do affordable home ownership and it will allow Places for People to do affordable rentals. It will be the first time that Habitat has worked with a non-profit to provide affordable rentals.”
Zambonin added, “that’s new for us. Normally, we’re just trying to sell all of our units. And it doesn’t help someone whose income may be a little bit lower and Places for People is only renting, so that doesn’t help somebody who wants to get equity. So, this is a really good partnership in that respect.”
Tromanhauser said the collaboration is ideal for Places for People. “We’re excited to work with Habitat because they have so much experience in building new builds and their reputation is pristine. Working together just makes sense because we’re both trying to solve the affordable housing problem; them through home ownership and us through rentals.”
Zambonin said that about four or five months ago, they made a presentation to the Haliburton County Home Builders Association and said, “this is what we’re planning to do. We’re looking for local trades, local suppliers because we have a whole network, but it’s in Peterborough and Lindsay. We’ve said ‘sure, we can bring people here, but that’s not what we want’. We’re looking for new partnerships, we’re looking for local suppliers.” She said in Peterborough, they get cost plus a bit as it is affordable housing.
“We want to take our model and just bring it to Haliburton and make new friends, essentially.”
Zambonin was asked about challenges in Haliburton County. She said she didn’t think there was anything different from Lindsay or Peterborough. “There is NIMBYism (not in my backyard), ‘those people’ that are going to be purchasing our homes. Well, ‘those people’ are your neighbours that are renting, and have solid jobs, and just can’t find a house they can afford that is worth buying and get a down payment.”
She added, “for us, it’s really trying to get people to understand how our program works. Because the average person would say ‘if builders can’t do this, how can you do it – that it’s going to be affordable?’ We have to explain our mortgage model for our homeowners; and how we are able to build for the price that we are able to build, which is our partnerships in the community. We know we are not going to get donations to build this. We need help with the cost to build and when our homeowners buy, that’s how we pay for it. We don’t walk away with all kinds of debt.”
Tromanhauser said Places for People brings local knowledge to the partnership and “can help Susan and her team meet the right people and get the message out and explain how Habitat works, and how it’s going to work in Haliburton.”
The two said once the community sees how it works, they hope it can kick off other affordable housing builds, such as at the Wee Care property in Haliburton.
The event is Thursday, Sept. 18 from 3-7 p.m. at the Haliburton Legion at 719 Mountain St., Haliburton.
