N.S. to fund housing, shelter projects, including ‘tiny home’ community in Lower Sackville

The Nova Scotia government and private firms are teaming up to build a “tiny home” community to help people experiencing homelessness in the Halifax region.

The pilot community announced Wednesday will have 52 units, providing housing for about 62 people on surplus land belonging to the municipality in Lower Sackville, according to a provincial government news release.

The project, billed as the first of its kind in Nova Scotia, is a collaboration between the provincial and municipal governments and the Shaw Group and Dexter Construction, Nova Scotia companies that are part of the Municipal Group.

The province says it will pay $9.4 million in construction and $935,000 per year in annual operating costs. Halifax is providing the land at no cost and will also provide custodial support, such as snow clearing and general property maintenance.

Dexter Construction will perform site services and land preparation work.

The units will be built by Prestige Homes, part of the Shaw Group of companies. Prestige Homes specializes in modular housing units and is committed to using Atlantic Canadian and Nova Scotian products in their construction.

The province says rent will be tied to income and will be no more than 30 per cent of a person’s income.

Community residents will be selected from the HRM By Name List and will receive support to help them connect to employment and more permanent housing.

The plan is to have 30 units completed by spring, with people living in them next summer. The community is to be complete by next fall and, if successful, similar communities may be created in other areas of the Halifax region and across the province, according to the government.

Other aspects of the project include:

• a not-for-profit entity will own and oversee the community
• it will be operated by a board of management that will initially have representatives from the provincial government, HRM, the private sector and a not-for-profit agency; the board will be responsible for managing the site development and for ongoing site management
• 10 units will be double occupancy
• a community building will be constructed to provide office and programming space for service providers and residents

Also Wednesday, the province announced more funding to create new winter shelters and establish a formal emergency weather response for vulnerable people.

It is also funding operational support and providing land in the Halifax region to establish what it described as “an innovative shelter solution.”

In partnership with service providers and municipalities across Nova Scotia, the province will pay $7.5 million for shelters produced by Pallet, a shelter provider. It will purchase 200 units to provide temporary housing, with 100 to be located in the Halifax region. The funding will also cover bed frames, mattresses and desks, and support operations, according to a news release.

Service providers and municipalities will be consulted on placing the shelters, potentially on provincial, municipal and service provider-owned land, the government says.

Pallet is described as a leader in rapid-response shelter villages designed by people with lived experience.

The communities will include single-occupancy rooms, plus bathroom and laundry units and onsite support by local service providers.

Communities with 10 or more rooms will have a space where residents can gather and access services.

The province will provide two parcels of land in the Halifax region to host the shelter villages, while HRM is providing land, land servicing and preparation support, as well as operational oversight of the 100 units.

The province also announced Wednesday it is providing $1.8 million for an additional three overnight shelters in Amherst, Bridgewater and the Halifax region. The location for the HRM shelter is to be finalized and released soon, the release stated.

The province says it is also expanding diversion and eviction prevention support funding by $570,000 to 11 organizations (eight in rural Nova Scotia and three in the Halifax area) and putting $250,000 toward the co-ordination of emergency weather responses across the province for those experiencing homelessness.

It will also provide HRM with up to $180,000 to support a designated winter campground for RV and trailer hookups.