Housing in Port Hawkesbury
Housing
Housing is the primary responsibility of the Province. However, the Town of Port Hawkesbury has prioritized housing in several ways over the past 8 years to assist.
Our Town staff and Council hear from people with housing needs almost every single day, and even though it isn’t the primary responsibility of a municipality to create housing, people continue to come to us for solutions. We knew we needed to begin by understanding the challenges around housing, the opportunities to promote the Town of Port Hawkesbury to developers, and ultimately, to work with partners to create a plan or strategy to increase housing of all kinds - like Seniors housing, student housing, affordable family housing, and housing to accommodate population growth in general. This is why housing continues to be a huge priority since 2016 when I became Mayor.
-Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton
We partnered with the Cape Breton Partnership to conduct a housing survey, and we also partnered with the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce to develop a housing strategy. Ways we've worked on housing is to promote the town to developers, to prepare our Town for development with zoning, by implementing development incentives, and by working towards the establish a non-profit housing enterprise to address our affordable housing needs.
Success on the housing file will require strategic partnerships with the private and non-profit sector, partnerships with the Province and the Federal governments, and collaboration with our community partners.
The NSCC Strait Area Campus student residence was a huge win for our Town, as was the recent announcement for multiple residential units for Memorial Drive. We are growing, but we need do much more to amplify that growth to ensure we can retain and grow our population in Port Hawkesbury, especially in the area of turn-key Seniors housing!
-Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton
Housing Survey for Port Hawkesbury
In late 2020, the Town Council worked with the Cape Breton Partnership to conduct a housing survey to determine what housing needs are desired or expected in Port Hawkesbury; we needed this data to inform our-decision making for long-term planning on the housing file. The goals of the survey were to:
To bring awareness to the role housing plays in creating healthy, prosperous and safe communities.
To give residents a chance to voice opinions about current housing needs.
To give future residents an opportunity to view Port Hawkesbury as a place to live and grow a family.
We had over 600 responses to the survey, which was a significant response rate for a Town our size. The data gave us an indication of what the local population was looking for in their accommodation which we’ve used in discussions with potential developers to demonstrate the significant housing demand.
The survey demonstrated that the top preferred building types for housing in Port Hawkesbury are: detached housing, duplexes, and apartment buildings. We also learned that the housing needs were many, especially in the areas of affordable housing, accessible seniors housing, student housing, small-scale housing and co-operative models of housing.
Something different we did from other housing surveys, was we asked respondents to indicate if they’d like their contact information to be provided to prospective developers. Approximately 180 of the respondents chose that option. The data demonstrated that we have housing needs all across the housing spectrum, especially the need for accessible seniors accommodations and accommodations that allow for pets.
Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton
The Town continues to use this data in presentation to developers, to housing partners, and in any funding applications that requires information and data needed to emphasis our needs for housing.
2023 Municipal Housing Needs Report
The Province of Nova Scotia has also made housing a priority. Each of the 49 municipalities were assessed to determine their housing needs. These statistics are also very useful to determine what our current need is for housing and also projections for housing needs over the next several years.
Read the Report
According to the report, The current estimated unit shortage for Port Hawkesbury is 175 units. Demand, which includes the shortage, is estimated to increase to 235 by 2027. Using current construction trends, about 5 units could be introduced to the market annually over the next 5 years, leaving a remaining gap of 210 units by 2027. Unless completions exceed the estimated annual rate of construction, ongoing trends can be expected to continue.
According to the Provincial report, we know that we have a lot of catching up to do. With the new housing units being installed at Memorial Drive, and other housing developments earmarked for 2024, we’ve exceeded the “5 unit” growth trajectory proposed in the report. We must accelerate our housing developments to bridge the gap identified as “185 units” for 2024, and continue to keep our foot on the gas until we increase our housing stock, especially in the areas of seniors housing, affordable housing, student housing, family housing and more. And how we accelerate housing lies in a strong housing strategy that makes sense for Port Hawkesbury!
- Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beeaton
A Housing Strategy for Port Hawkesbury
The Town of Port Hawkesbury partnered with the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce and other community partners (in 2022) to develop a housing strategy. Knowing that lack of housing impacts the ability to attract employees - including healthcare workers - and discourages post-secondary student enrollment, it made great sense to strike a partnership with the Chamber and other important community partners.
This strategy work was completed by New Dawn Enterprises; with the goals of consulting with the community to determine the needs for housing, as well as to determine critical pathways the Town could take on this important file. New Dawn identified some roles the Town of Port Hawkesbury could play in improving housing, and to outline the need for a local non-profit housing organization that can work with the Town and other community partners to seek funding for, build and manage future housing projects, particularly the types of housing needs not being met by the private sector (like affordable, accessible, and second-stage housing).
This Housing Strategy aims to build community strength in the housing sector for Port Hawkesbury, focusing on making housing accessible and affordable to support a healthy market that meets the diverse needs of residents now and in the future. Several key themes emerged from examining best practices for affordable housing developers:
• Innovative Construction Techniques, Purchasing Existing Buildings & Densification
• Inclusion and Communication with Stakeholders and Residents
• Mixed-Income Development Model for Financial Sustainability
• Working with a Private Developer
• Partnering with Experts to Bring in Skills Required
• Internal Staff and Partner Capacity Must be Sufficient to Support Residents
New Dawn has identified meaningful, innovative actions the town can take to encourage private and not-for-profit developers to build housing in Port Hawkesbury:
• Advocacy
• Land use bylaw changes
• In-kind land, utility, and fee contributions
• Financial incentives
While Port Hawkesbury faces a variety of significant challenges in implementing an effective housing strategy, including the rising cost of construction, acquiring adequate funding and financing, as well as navigating the restrictions imposed by the Municipal Government Act (MGA), it also boasts a range of valuable assets. These assets include strong and supportive leadership, an increasing population that is eager for development, and a growing community awareness of the pressing housing issues at hand.
This comprehensive Housing Strategy concludes with a detailed list of potential funding sources that could be utilized for the development of housing and outlines the necessary next steps for successfully operationalizing the strategy.
It also should be noted that New Dawn will continue to work with the Town of Port Hawkesbury to develop a housing project in the community, and is currently looking into various models of housing that would incorporate a mix of affordable, second-stage, market and accessible units for both Seniors and persons with varying levels of mobility. (Below is a model of a similar mixed used housing development.
Non-Profit Housing Enterprise
Although New Dawn has ongoing plans to work with the Town of Port Hawkesbury on a future housing project, they also recommend that the Town of Port Hawkesbury work with other community partners to establish a non-profit housing enterprise. This housing enterprise will be able to build local capacity in pursuing housing projects - particularly affordable housing options - that are not currently being met by the private sector.
Currently, the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce continues to lead on the development of a not-for-profit housing enterprise that can serve both the Town of Port Hawkesbury and other Municipalities in the Strait Area that will eventially operate as a stand-alone enterprise whose governance is grounded in the community and works with multiple community partners.
Listen to Strait Area Chamber of Commerce Speak on Non-Profit Housing Enterprise
The Town of Port Hawkesbury has already approved by motion their support to work with the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce to move forward with other partners to establish a housing non-profit. We look forward to continuing this important file, and at our September Public meeting approved funding along with Richmond County toward the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce’s application for the founding of a non-profit for housing.
Public Housing
Our Town has also advocated for both improvements to, and expansion of, public housing. We know that there are chronic wait lists that demonstrate what we could double the current public housing units and still not be able to house all those wait listed for public housing. The demand for public housing - particularly accessible public housing for seniors - will only increase with our aging demographic.
Nursing home beds are another important need in the Town of Port Hawkesbury. The Port Hawkesbury Nursing Home currently has 59 nursing home beds, 1 nursing home respite bed, and 6 RCF beds. We were extremely pleased when the Provincial Government announced more nursing home beds for Port Hawkesbury. MacLeod Cares will build and operate a new 96 bed facility with construction to begin in 2026.
Port Hawkesbury needs a wide spectrum of housing. We have definitely made some in-roads over the past 8 years on the housing file and we can celebrate the NSCC Strait Area Campus student residence, the recent announcement for 40 new housing units on Memorial Drive, as well as the plans for executive homes in Pine Ridge, and more. We must continue to keep the housing momentum going and use our housing strategy to maximize our housing outcomes in the upcoming 2024-2028 Term.
- Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton
Housing Developer Meetings.
From 2020 to 2024, the Town, members of the housing committee, and other community partners have met (both in-person and virtually) with a several housing developers who expressed interest in learning about housing opportunities in the Port Hawkesbury. In these meetings, we shared the results of our housing survey, reviewed the opportunities and need for housing in the Town, and provided any information and/or answered any questions by prospective developers. Town staff also continue to do follow up work with developers to gauge continued interest.
Strait Richmond Housing Matters Coalition.
This coalition includes elected officials from Port Hawkesbury and Richmond County, service and public sector stakeholders, and community members. We address housing challenges and are conducting a housing count to assess needs in Cape Breton South. We have hosted think tanks and "people's school" events to identify housing gaps.
