Newfoundland Labrador Housing (Housing) recently awarded a $113,000 contract to CMH Construction Ltd. to undertake interior and exterior renovations of 10 social housing residences at Codroy Place, St. John�s. The Honourable Shawn Skinner, Minister of Human Resources Labour and Employment and Minister Responsible for Housing, and Shelia Osborne, MHA, St. John�s West, made the announcement today.

"As landlords, we take our responsibility to maintain a quality standard for social housing very seriously," said Minister Skinner. "This is why our government, in its last two provincial budgets, allocated significant resources to specifically address housing issues."

The current renovations to houses at Codroy Place include: installation of new siding, doors and windows; and new pressure treated steps will be added to the rear of the buildings to replace the current concrete pads and steps.

"It is quite evident that improving our social housing stock is definitely a priority of this government," said Mrs. Osborne. "We are very pleased that Housing has an annual program which will address property upgrades and ensure comfortable homes are available for those most in need. I know tenants at Codroy Place welcome these improvements."

This past fiscal year alone, Housing has spent $10 million, and completed extensive exterior work on over 500 dwellings throughout the province. These renovations were a result of the significant $27.5 million funding increase, over five years, which the Provincial Government provided last year. In addition, Budget 2008 committed $10 million over five years for a new Interior Retrofit Program, which will see significant interior upgrades to many social housing properties over time.

The anticipated completion date of these current renovations is September 2008.

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