CORNWALL – After roughly a decade, the City of Cornwall will build a social services complex that will have 33 units.
The City of Cornwall was given $1,886,455 last month from the second phase of the Ontario government’s social services relief fund.
“There’s a site that we’re looking at to build a multi-level social housing property with 40 to 50 units at this time,” CAO Maureen Adams told council during its Oct. 26 meeting.
The city shared today the location is the southwest corner of McConnell Avenue and Ninth Street and it will be 33 units with 15 per cent of those being accessible.
Adams confirmed that the entire $1,886,455, announced by MPP Jim McDonell, is going toward that geared-to-income project. Speaking with Cornwall Newswatch, Adams estimated the grant would cover about a third of the entire project.
She says it will be similar to the social housing building on Sixth Street East that was opened in September 2010. The four-storey building, which has 32 geared-to-income units, cost $3 million to build at the time and $2.2 million was put into the project from senior governments.
“So we are looking at something with a similar footprint to that. It’s worked well,” Adams told Cornwall Newswatch.
The new building will be five storeys and will also incorporate some commercial space, which will eventually house the Cornwall and Area Housing Corporation office. The land footprint is large enough to have a second building but there are no immediate plans for that.
“We’d like to think we’re in really good shape to get the project going,” Adams said about owning the land.
The city estimates the building will be ready to rent by December next year with construction complete by June 2022.
A recent study shows Cornwall and SD&G needs 741 more units between now at 2031. There are currently 1,713 units.