The following is being distributed at the request of Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation:

Reconfiguration Projects Help Address Changing Social Housing Needs

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC) continues to help meet the social housing needs of smaller families and single people through reconfiguration projects. A $177,000 project on Ricketts Road in Buckmaster’s Circle, St. John’s, has reconfigured an existing three-bedroom social housing unit into two new units comprising a two-bedroom home and a single bedroom apartment.

“Smaller families and single adults account for the greatest demand of affordable social housing,” said the Honourable Paul Davis, Minister Responsible for NLHC. “This $177,000 project is another smart and cost-effective way to remodel larger vacant units into multiple smaller homes within the same space, and we hope to do more as vacancies occur and funding permits.”

Eastern Siding Systems Ltd. was awarded the contract to remodel the unit, representing the third reconfiguration project undertaken by the NLHC over the past three years. The first project on Wheeler’s Road in Corner Brook remodelled two adjoining town houses and created two single-bedroom apartments and one two-bedroom fully accessible home. The second project was completed in 2012, where two three-bedroom duplexes on Mundy Pond Road in St. John’s were reconfigured into four one-bedroom apartments.

In 2010, the Provincial Government invested $1 million to research and develop options to address demographic changes impacting the demand for social housing.

Budget 2013: A Sound Plan, A Secure Future provides $10 million for NLHC’s Modernization and Improvement Program. Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation is the province’s largest landlord, with 5,556 affordable rental units province-wide.

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2013 10 01             11:05 a.m.