Yellowknife (May 22/06) - The NWT Housing Corporation plans to build an estimated 530 housing units - from single-family homes to multiplexes - over the next three years.

The building spree - officially known as the Affordable Housing Strategy - is designed to reduce the high demand for new homes and replace old, inefficient public housing with multi-unit configurations. However, it does not mean there were will be 530 units added to the NWT's housing stock.

Gary McLellan, the corporation's director of policy and programs, says approximately 200 of the units will replace existing public housing. The remaining new units will be made available for purchase or lease.

The $100-million project is being funded by $50 million each from the federal government and the GNWT/housing corporation.

All communities in the NWT will get a share of the new housing, ranging from 62 units for Yellowknife to two for Enterprise.

The strategy, which will triple the current level of housing construction by the corporation, was unveiled May 17 at a Yellowknife meeting of the NWT Association of Communities.

Tulita will get 17 units, and they are being welcomed by Mayor Gordon Yakeleya.

"We're happy this housing is coming to Tulita," he says, noting accommodation is so tight now that some grown children have to live with their parents.

Mayor Peter Martselos of Fort Smith, which is getting 21 units, is also happy.

"Maybe it is not going to solve all the problem, but it is very good news for all of us," he says.

In Fort Liard, Mayor Mike Drake is unclear how units were shared among communities.

Some communities with similar populations got more than Fort Liard's 13 units, he notes. "Thirteen homes barely puts a dent in Fort Liard."

However, Drake says every community is in the same position of needing more housing than the program will provide.

The new housing is welcomed by Lydia Bardak, the chair of the Yellowknife Homeless Coalition.

"What we're really seeing is a growing working poor population, and not enough being done in affordable housing," Bardak says.

McLellan says several factors went into determining how many units went to each community - existing need, the condition of public housing and projected population growth.

The corporation will likely replace public housing with duplexes and five-plexes, he says. "Anything that we can do to keep the cost down."

McLellan says construction will begin as soon as possible. It is hoped 185 units will be either built or under construction by the end of 2006.

Before the building can begin, however, building lots have to be found.

In March, the department of Municipal and Community Affairs and the housing corporation formed a joint team to develop a consultation and implementation plan to get the housing built.

Discussions on land will begin with communities in mid-June.