Edmundston City Council takes major steps to accelerate housing construction

Sep 17, 2024

At its monthly public meeting, Edmundston City Council adopted its first-ever declaration on access to housing, which sets out the municipality's firm commitment to accelerate housing construction in response to the community's housing crisis.

To give concrete expression to this commitment, City Council adopted the Municipal Housing Acceleration Program and implemented development incentives that will support developers with various subsidies.

In fact, thanks to the support of the federal and provincial governments, the City of Edmundston is offering $5.2 million in funding to facilitate housing construction, of which nearly $2 million will be offered in direct incentives, while the balance will be used for infrastructure work, site acquisition and preparation, and other initiatives related to this unprecedented program.

"Adding housing is everyone's business. Collaboration with the private sector, community partners, NPOs and housing cooperatives is essential for the construction of new housing units, while ensuring that the programs promote the construction and conversion of quality buildings," explained Edmundston Mayor Eric Marquis.

To ensure that the program runs smoothly and to support developers, a dedicated team has been set up, under the direction of the senior economic development and housing coordinator, Isabelle Laplante.

She points out that developers interested in developing projects are invited to consult the four incentive programs available in the "Housing" section of the municipal website, under the "Development" tab. "As of now, our construction support incentives are ready, and four municipal lots will be available for calls for projects on September 26th. We will be proceeding with a first phase of infrastructure work worth $800,000 to accommodate housing projects, and we have plans for typical buildings that will undoubtedly give developers a head start," explains Mrs. Laplante.

For more information on the Municipal Housing Acceleration Program, please CLICK HERE.

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 CONTACT: Isabelle Laplante, Senior Economic Development and Housing Coordinator, 506.739.2080, isabelle.laplante@edmundston.ca