Ground Breaking: 6 New Habitat for Humanity Condos in Lachine

After several months of procedures, the project of 6 Habitat for Humanity condos in Lachine is moving forward with the first official shovelful of ground on November 9, under the snow and in the presence of dignitaries and the families who will live in the places.

6 new housing units in Lachine from June 2024

“This building will make all the difference for the 6 families who live in precarious housing conditions. The building will welcome them in June 2024,” exclaimed the general director of Habitat for Humanity Quebec, Shirlane Day. The selected families will take out an interest-free mortgage with the organization. Their monthly payments will not exceed 30% of gross household income, the often-used definition of housing affordability.

This project is carried out thanks to financial support of $300,000 from the MONTONI Foundation. The Montoni Group has also committed to raising an additional $300,000 for its completion, from its partners and suppliers. The Habitat for Humanity Quebec team is also counting on $400,000 in funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) as part of a national partnership with Habitat for Humanity Canada.

The Montoni Group is carrying out the project at cost price. This is the very first project, financed by the MONTONI Foundation.

“The mission of the Foundation is to help families in Quebec and internationally with the objective of promoting the autonomy of these families. This is what we are doing today by allowing 6 families to have a place that will belong to them,” underlines Frédérick Truchon-Gagnon, Director, Public Affairs and Communications of the Montoni Group.

The 29, 7^e Avenue is located on vacant land that belonged to the Borough of Lachine. This land was transferred for a modest sum, around $16,000, to Habitat for Humanity Quebec for this condo project, explains Maja Vodanovic, mayor of Lachine. The project was also exempt from park fees.

A few small lots like this one were not allocated to Lachine and still belong to the borough.

Families moved

Single-parent mother, Inès, struggled to contain her tears of joy while shoveling the earth.

“It is a great happiness and a great hope for us. We are lucky. I am touched. With the cost of living, I no longer thought I could live in Montreal, even if I had a very decent job,” she says.

For Asma, “it’s a light at the end of the tunnel. We found that it was becoming inaccessible to have decent housing with inflation. This is an important family project for us. »

Another mother of young children, Zineb, explains that the process of obtaining a condo in this project was well done and flexible. The families were treated to several meetings with Habitat for Humanity.

“With everything that’s happening now, even if you want to rent a place with young children, you can’t anymore. As soon as you say it, it’s over for you,” explains Zineb.

“There is a generational impact when we talk about access to property. This is capital that families manage to put aside. We see that this brings stability, not only for the parents, but also for the children who will grow up in this stability and who will benefit from it,” concludes the director of Family and Volunteer Services at Habitat for Humanity. Quebec, Sophie Dalbec.

Furthermore, the federal and provincial governments announced Thursday an agreement concerning the Fund to Accelerate Housing Construction (FACL) through which Canada will pay Quebec a total contribution of $900 million.

As part of its economic and financial update, the government of Quebec announced that it will also invest a sum of $900 million, bringing the total value of the envelope from the two governments to $1.8 billion in new funds available for housing construction. We are promised that this investment will create 8,000 social and affordable housing units, including 500 which will be reserved for homeless clients or at risk of becoming homeless.

The photo at the top of this article of the first shovelful of earth for the Habitat for Humanity project in Lachine with families was taken by Carl Sincennes on November 9, 2023.