Region gets $15m for housing upgrades

By Dave Flaherty/The Oshawa Express

$15 million in provincial funding over the next five years for Durham’s aging fleet of social housing apartment buildings is a good start, but John Connolly says it will take more, much more, to get where the region needs to be.

The influx of cash was jointly announced by Liberal MPPs Granville Anderson (Durham), Joe Dickson (Ajax-Pickering) and Tracy MacCharles (Pickering-Scarborough East) on Sept. 15 at regional headquarters in Whitby.

While Connolly, the region’s director of social housing, says investments from upper levels of governments are always welcomed, more consistent and long-term funding is needed.

“Our needs are more…We need to look 10, 15 years down the road,” he noted.

Pickering regional councillor David Pickles, who was standing in at the announcement for regional chair and CEO Roger Anderson, echoed this sentiment, explaining the majority of Durham’s social housing stock is aging, having been built mostly in the 1960s and 1970s.

Calling the funding announcement a “step in the right direction”, Pickles channelled an often used quote of Anderson’s, stating “we have to do better.”

The provincial funding will be used for upgrades in social housing buildings such as energy efficient heating, improved insulation, and window replacements. It will be funded by proceeds from Ontario’s carbon market.

About $3.3 million of the overall funding will come over the next two years, with $11 million slated for Durham Region between 2019 and 2021.

While Connolly says most of the region’s social housing projects are in “fair to good” condition, 69 per cent according to building condition assessments performed last year, millions of dollars in additional investments will be required in the future.

“We are looking at $220 to $240 million across the board. These are well-used important assets.”

While the federal government is developing a national housing strategy for Canada, details on potential funding from the senior level of government for social housing projects have been scarce.

As reported previously in the Oshawa Express, the Durham Region Local Housing Corporation has identified $4.9 million of priority maintenance work over the next five years, including $560,000 of “immediate critical priorities”.

According to Connolly, “most of the capital requirements identified relate to normal capital replacements, and for older sites, added costs due to proposed remediation of designated substances (e.g. asbestos) in conjunction with normal capital replacements (e.g. roofing, windows, balconies, roadways, etc.).”

The $560,000 in ‘critical priorities’ include conducting a comprehensive study of one site’s foundation and water proofing system, replacement of attic insulation at one site, installing isolation backflow preventers for domestic water services and the repair and installation of minor items to address health and safety issues related to passenger elevators.