City of Ottawa’s Housing Accelerator Fund Use of Funds and Roadmap

The recitals

• the recommended Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Spending Plan allocates 90 per cent of the HAF funding towards the Non-Profit Affordable Housing Pipeline Strategy
• Recommendation 2 of the staff report would delegate authority to the Director of Housing Services to allocate 90 per cent of what the City receives from all four advances of the Housing Accelerator Fund through conditional capital contributions agreements with housing providers, with 90 per cent of the first three advances, being up to $119 million, to be allocated in a manner that will best achieve the deliverables of the HAF, taking into consideration the recommended projects identified through the Request for Expression of Interest
• , as outlined in the report, the issuance of the fourth advance of the HAF is conditional upon the number of dwellings issued building-permits from the growth targets
• the list of twenty-five eligible non-profit affordable housing projects consisting is attached as supporting Document 2 to the staff report (Non-Profit Affordable Housing Pipeline and Priority Projects)
• the Shepherd’s of Good Hope (SGH) acquired the former ParkLane (private) Residence and property located at 1083-1095 Merivale Road earlier this decade and invested significant time and resources to renovating the building before their clients took up occupancy in the summer of 2023
• the renovated facility at 1095 Merivale provides a safe residence for those who have come directly from the shelter system
• the 2023 opening was the third Shepherd’s of Good Hope facility on the same block and the proposal for 1083 Merivale will be the fourth facility operated by the SGH on the same block
• since the summer of 2023, there have been a high volume of incidents in the Carlington community, engaging the Ottawa Police Services, Ottawa Fire Services and Ottawa Paramedic Services, other community partners, local businesses and local residents, resulting in multiple meetings hosted by the local Councillor aiming to provide greater social stability in the immediate community
• , acknowledging the right to housing for all residents, there is a strong concern with the concentration of a fourth facility on the same block, in addition to a high volume of other supportive and social housing in the neighbourhood
• , the list of potential projects to be funded by the Housing Accelerator Fund far outweighs the funding available
• the recommended projects to be funded may include both affordable and supportive housing projects