City Helps Housing Non-Profits with Land Transfers

[January 23, 2020] The City of Calgary and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation are pioneering a land transfer deal that will make it easier for non-profits to develop affordable housing in Calgary.

Affordable housing reached another milestone on January 9, 2020 with the announcement of plans to sell five City-owned sites to non-profit affordable housing providers, generating up to 200 new units for Calgarians in need.

This accomplishment demonstrates Calgary Housing’s commitment to deliver safe and affordable housing where residents can thrive. It’s also an accomplishment that came from a core team who spent months working with our partners in other business units.

The land transfer deal exemplifies the work being done to increase the volume of affordable housing in Calgary, and acknowledges that this work is best suited for non-profits with better capacity to deliver affordable housing. Currently we need over 15,000 unit of housing to meet the national average of 6%  non-market households for large cities.

The City recognizes that non-profits have access to funding, including the ability to leverage potential federal dollars, and keeping land costs low provides non-profits with more resources to support operations and keep rents low.

As an additional part of this land deal, The City of Calgary is partnering with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to pioneer a single application process that will make it easier for Calgary to help scale up non-profit housing providers. The single application is expected to speed up the process for non-profits to secure sites and funds, as well as save time and money spent preparing multiple applications.

Successful applicants of non-market land sales will also qualify for funding from the City’s Housing Incentive Program and from CMHC’s SEED and Co-Investment funding. This innovative partnership is exciting because it demonstrates the work Calgary Housing is doing to become the leading affordable housing provider in Canada.  The City expects up to $48 million in contributions will be available to affordable housing providers in Calgary.

Successful applicants will be experienced non-profit organizations with strong track records as affordable housing providers, who could begin construction right away, and have capacity to speed up development. Alignment with the goals of The City’s Corporate Affordable Housing Strategy and the National Housing Strategy will also be an element of the decision making process.

A formal announcement on successful applicants is anticipated by the end of the summer and The City and successful applicants will engage with the communities throughout the project design and development process.

Useful Links

Information on Land for non-market housing [calgary.ca]

Sale of five City-owned development sites to affordable housing providers in Calgary [newsroom.calgary.ca]

Land Locations

View more about the non-market housing land program at calgary.ca

198, 202, 206 Saddleback RD NE (image credit calgary.ca)	352 34 Ave NE (image credit calgary.ca)
1711 20 ST NW (image credit calgary.ca)	1730 16 AVE NW (image credit calgary.ca)
3790 Seton Dr SE (image credit calgary.ca)