60 more tiny homes coming to Fredericton affordable housing community

A not-for-profit organization building tiny homes for Fredericton’s homeless population is getting more than $13 million in federal and provincial funding.

The money will go toward the construction of 60 additional tiny homes in the city’s 12 Neighbours Community. This comes after 36 tiny homes were built during the first phase of the project, according to the New Brunswick government.

The project is “the most innovative initiative that has been developed in New Brunswick to help vulnerable residents in need of housing,” said Jill Green, MLA for Fredericton North and the minister responsible for housing, in a news release.

“Dozens of low-income individuals that were confronted with homelessness have already found a home in the 12 Neighbours Community and many more will have that opportunity thanks to Phase 2 of the project,” Green continued.

Her comments were made on behalf of Social Development Minister Dorothy Shephard.

Located on the north side of Fredericton, the 12 Neighbours Community consists of fully independent and detached tiny homes on their own small, private yard.

The province says each home is 200 square feet, with a bathroom, a fully-equipped kitchen and a sleeping space for one or two people, as well as living and dining spaces.

Marcel LeBrun, the founder of 12 Neighbours Community Inc., says his team is happy to receive funding from both levels of government.

“This neighbourhood of micro-homes already makes an important difference in the lives of so many people, and the completion of the project will be an asset for the overall Fredericton community as an important contributor in helping to reduce homelessness,” said LeBrun in the release.

The federal and provincial governments are spending a combined $2.4 million in the form of a forgivable loan through the Affordable Rental Housing Program.

In addition, rent supplements for each unit built during the second phase will ensure that tenants do not pay more than 30 per cent of their total household income in rent, according to the release. This represents an additional investment of $7.1 million over the next 20 years.

In total, the federal government is contributing $3.8 million for Phases I and II of the project through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund, which is delivered by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

In the first phase of development last year, 12 Neighbours Inc. got $1.4 million in the form of a forgivable loan through the Affordable Rental Housing Program, as well as rent supplements for each unit.

The rental housing program provides financial help to private entrepreneurs, private non-profit corporations (including off-reserve Indigenous population), and co-operatives for the construction, repair and conversion of rental housing projects.

According to the news release, help is in the form of a forgivable loan and is based on the cost of eligible work and the number of eligible self-contained units or bed units within a project.