The Maxwell Park Place expansion project will start to take shape in the coming months as modules are expected to start being stacked by the end of February.
The affordable housing project at 993 Maxwell Street in Sarnia has been plagued by multiple delays due to various factors.
Manager of Housing Services Melisa Johnson said foundation work is expected to be completed sometime this week. Johnson said a couple of weeks will be allotted to let the concrete cure.
"Module stacking should begin by the end of February on site," she said. Johnson said modules were completed around the spring of 2023 and are currently being stored in a separate location.
A specific date for occupancy has not been revised but Johnson said they do expect it to be sometime in the second half of 2024.
"Once the modules are stacked, there's still a lot of work required on-site to frame in the building, to finish the work and connect it to the building," she said. "So at this time, we're definitely expecting occupancy to be in 2024, we just haven't finalized that timeline... if we're looking at late summer or into the fall."
"The most recent delay was with the building permit. The building permit that had been issued, the foundation permit, had been revoked and required a full resubmittal to the City of Sarnia just because of the numerous changes with the foundation and other aspects of the project," Johnson said. "The updated permit was issued in late November of 2023 which then prompted the work to begin."
Despite the delays, funding support from higher tiers of government did not falter.
"I believe that these delays are being experienced by many organizations that are completing modular builds so it's not unique to us, which I think is why we're not getting the push back from the funders," she said. "Obviously we're getting pushback in the community, any delay is a concern. We obviously have a lack of affordable housing in the community and we have many homeless issues so 24 units are much needed."
Johnson said a tenant selection plan is in place and will be worked on closer to the occupancy date.
As outlined in an update to county officials in the new year, the cost of the project was still estimated to cost $7 million.
Johnson had previously told Sarnia News Today that project costs had increased by nearly $400,000 compared to initial estimates but additional government funding helped offset expenses.