Many of Lambton County's community leaders highlighted what's being done to increase housing in their municipalities on Tuesday morning.
Affordable housing and shelter has been deemed the number one priority for the county right now, so dignitaries seemed eager to speak about the topic during the second annual State of Lambton Business Breakfast, hosted by the Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce at the Plympton-Wyoming Fairgrounds.
While the availability of undeveloped properties is limited in the Village of Point Edward, Mayor Bev Hand said they do have some projects on the go.
"The owners of Holmes Foundry are completing their environmental assessment," said Hand. "We expect some mixed use on that property including apartment buildings. A subdivision is planned for a property on Exmouth Street, this development would provide 180 units. [Construction of] a new apartment is underway on Venetian Boulevard, it is six floors, 52 units that will be rentals, and it should be completed in the fall."
Hand said another potential development would see about 25 townhouse units built on Venetian Boulevard.
She said the village is waiting for a final report on its water and sewer system to ensure they can cover the growth of all of the proposed developments.
St. Clair Township Mayor Jeff Agar said "residential growth has been flourishing" and they have 483 properties included in future developments.
"Corunna has recently seen significant residential growth with two new condominium developments, the expansion of a number of single family dwelling developments, a new single dwelling unit subdivision in Courtright and lots of continued development along the St. Clair Parkway," said Agar.
Warwick Township Mayor Todd Case shared details on residential growth there.
"Right now we have three formal residential applications in process that will see the building of approximately 188 homes over the next two years," said Case. "That is very exciting to our community."
Petrolia Mayor Brad Loosley said residential growth in his community has resulted in a greater use of the downtown, social and recreational amenities and a low vacancy rate in their business and industrial properties.
"Though a hotel is high on the list of items for Petrolia, the real need for Petrolia is to address child care shortages in our community and to develop affordable housing," Loosley said.
Lambton Shores Mayor Doug Cook said their population has grown by ten per cent in the last few years.
"Service clubs and volunteers across Lambton Shores are very welcoming to existing residents, tourists and newcomers to our municipality," said Cook.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley shared that the city recently received a $400,000 cheque for exceeding its 2023 housing target with a total of 254 new units.
In 2023, challenges coming out of the pandemic were discussed at the inaugural event.