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P.E.I. allocates additional $50M to boost housing construction

Prince Edward Island’s Housing Challenge Fund pilot has been renewed to help fast-track new housing stock across the province. With a 10 year, two per cent interest rate over 25 years and property tax rebates, P.E.I. is looking to grow housing supply in both urban and rural areas.

“We need to work together, and work quickly, to get new housing developments off the ground to address our vacancy rate and create more housing options for residents. Through the first round of the Housing Challenge Fund, over 250 new units are currently under construction. We will continue to look at ways we can add to our housing inventory – from emergency shelters and supportive housing to affordable housing, market units and home ownership – so that every Islander has a place to call home,” said Minister of Housing, Land and Communities Rob Lantz.

The Housing Challenge Fund will allocate $20 million of the $50 million available to rural housing starts, while the remaining $30 million will be earmarked for developments in the Charlottetown, Cornwall, Stratford and Summerside areas.

Projects funded through the Housing Challenge Fund must be new projects, and will be evaluated based on the following:

• property design features, including accessibility;
• location;
• construction timelines;
• lease, rental or ownership structure;
• carbon reduction footprint; and,
• financial capability of the development and the developer or contractor.

“The province is putting forward very lucrative incentives to help boost housing stock across the island, and I hope that those in the business are going to take us up on the offer,” said Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Trade Gilles Arsenault. “It’s through community and private sector partnerships that we will rise to the occasion to meet the infrastructure needs of all our residents, one building at a time.”

Interested applicants can learn more about the Housing Challenge Fund, and submit their application to Finance P.E.I. by September 29.