The Antigonish Affordable Housing Society (AAHS) will host a series of local fundraising events in the coming months as part of its Housing for Hope campaign.
The Society intends to raise $250,000 to fully fund Phase 2 of its Riverside Estates affordable housing development on Hope Lane. Plans for Phase 2 include 10 new one and two-bedroom apartments, as well as a Community Room for residents to meet. The total cost is estimated to be $1,600,000. It is expected additional financing will come from government sources.
”We want to build on the tremendous local support we received last year that helped us to win the grand prize in the Aviva Community Fund competition,” Colleen Cameron, AAHS Chair, said. “The $100,000 award we received will go directly towards the creation of the Community Room, an integral part of our approach to providing affordable housing for people who live on low incomes.”
”With the Community Room, our Community Navigator and Tenants Advisory Group, we are creating a unique model of what socially inclusive affordable housing could look like in Canada,” Cameron added. “We know from our experience with Phase 1 that our tenants feel a sense of inclusion and pride in their homes and the community they have created around themselves.”
The Society hopes to begin construction of Phase 2 as soon as weather permits in the spring.