Affordable housing project in Antigonish County seeks funding to complete the project

If you drive near Sugarloaf in Antigonish County over the coming months, you may eventually see something new taking shape, a residential development designed to bring more affordable housing to the community.

But before the homes can be built, the groundwork has to happen.

More than $566,000 in federal funding, announced last week, is being invested to help provide the road and municipal infrastructure needed for the development, including water and sewer services.

For Terry MacIsaac, Board Chair of the Antigonish Affordable Housing Society, the funding represents an important starting point.

“This part of the investment, which is really only the beginning of what many better things to come for sure,” MacIsaac said.

The Sugarloaf site is located close to the town of Antigonish and within walking distance of St. Martha’s Regional Hospital. It will be adjacent to the Maples and is expected to become a new residential area.

The Antigonish Affordable Housing Society is targeting approximately 131 housing units as part of its multi-phase plans. Other organizations are also expected to have a presence on the site, including the Naomi Society.

The infrastructure will also support a Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) building that is already complete, as well as a medical clinic currently under construction.

Completing the project requires additional funding

The Affordable Housing Society has been working with architects and engineers, as well as the Town and County, to make sure the development’s water and sewer requirements can be supported by existing or planned infrastructure.

The group is also working to secure the remaining financing needed to move the housing project forward.

MacIsaac says the goal is to begin housing construction around June 2027, although there isn’t yet a firm schedule for construction of the access road itself.

“We’re still working on all of the funding stack that’s necessary for the full project, but we’re making very good progress as far as those discussions are concerned.”

For people waiting for more affordable housing in the Antigonish area, that means the project isn’t at the stage of homes going up just yet.

But the infrastructure funding marks a significant step toward making the development possible.

And once the road, water and sewer infrastructure are in place, the Sugarloaf site will be positioned for a development that could eventually bring more than a hundred new affordable homes to the area.