By: Fernando Arce, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Tilbury Times Reporter
With a recent injection of government funds, a nonprofit organization’s dream of building 30 small homes in Chatham, Ont., is one step closer to fruition.
The Opportunity Villages Community Land Trust (OVCLT) recently announced receiving $97,000 through the 2023-2024 Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF). The Community Foundations of Canada helped administer those funds, allowing the nonprofit “to move its unique small home development closer to reality,” according to a press release.
“As a newly established, federally registered nonprofit organization (2019), OVCLT is appreciative of the encouraging support received from the Community Foundations of Canada to provide an alternative option for low to moderate income individuals and families to transition out of rental accommodation into homeownership,” it states.
Judith Decou, the organization’s president (until March), says the idea is to help low- and moderate-income renters “who cannot enter the homeowner cohort due to the high cost of homes” be able to do so.
“Our homes are between 600 and 900 sq ft, and are to be sold below market value,” says Decou. “We hope to have shovels in the ground by spring and some homes built by the end of next summer.”
The future community, to be named The Brickworks, will also feature a common unit of about 2000 sq. ft. All of it will be constructed on the lot at 10 Taylor Ave. and sold to tenants through a life-lease agreement.
“As a land trust, we retain ownership of the land and the occupants of the homes will retain an interest in the home equal to the percentage of market value at which they purchased the home. We own the remainder of market value in the home,” Decou explained.
“The occupants will be required to sell at the percentage of market value at which they originally purchased the home, but will profit by any equity increases in their part of the ownership. This will ensure that these homes remain affordable.”
Decou says they purchased the land in Chatham at the end of 2019 but were immediately challenged and hindered from moving forward by COVID.
“The wheels of government slowed down considerably, and we became aware in 2023 that we needed much more remediation on the site than we had anticipated,” she said.
Their next milestone is completing that remediation process, “with fundraising and funding being an ongoing challenge.”
According to the press release, the majority of CSRF funding was used to engage consultants in the planning required to remediate the property, to recruit other professionals to prepare preliminary designs, and to secure marketing experts to create content to educate prospective homeowners, potential investors and members of the local media about the project.
The balance of funds was expended to purchase office equipment and supplies, to participate in the newly established Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts and the University of Toronto’s Social Purpose Real Estate Program and to cover commercial general liability insurance coverage and legal fees.
