Lambton County Council has approved the development of an affordable housing project at the former site of St. Bartholomew's Church.
Council voted in favour of a staff recommendation during its regular meeting Wednesday, that any development at the property be owned and operated by the County of Lambton as rent geared-to-income housing.
General Manager of Social Services Melissa Fitzpatrick told council construction is still a few years away.
"So we are working through the rezoning application process at this time," said Fitzpatrick. "In terms of timeline, the construction timeframe would be approximately 24 months from when we start, and we anticipate anywhere from a year to 18 months before we could begin the construction phase."
The planned four-storey building across from Jubille Gardens would have 94 one-bedroom units, including 16 barrier free units and 68 parking spaces.
Tenants would be from the county's waitlist of households eligible for rent geared-to-income assistance.
"The units would be filled from our centralized waitlist for affordable housing," said Fitzpatrick. "Our tenants are held to the same standards as any tenant in a rental property in the private market. We would have an on-site key attendant. Our buildings are very well maintained and we take pride in our housing stock. We don't foresee this building being any different than our existing buildings."
Manager of Housing Services Melisa Johnson recently told Sarnia News Today, there are just over 1,000 eligible households on the waitlist.
The county recently held public information sessions regarding future plans for the north end property, and a total of around 160 people attended.
A summary provided to council said a strong majority of the participants at the meetings were in favour of building affordable housing the site, but were also opposed to supportive housing. It said there was a small minority of participants who were not in favour of either option.
