Four affordable housing projects in Saint John will each receive $200,000 from the city.

They have been chosen as the recipients of the city’s Affordable Housing Grant Program, officials announced Tuesday.

The $800,000 was provided by the province through funding received from the federal government.

“The launch of the Affordable Housing Grant Program gave the City an opportunity to focus even more effectively on finding solutions for affordable housing needs in our community,” Mayor Donna Reardon said in a news release.

According to city staff, the money will be used to help create more than 160 affordable housing units throughout the city. The successful projects include:

• Kaleidoscope Social Impact – 39 affordable housing units, located at 58 Broad Street/Broadview Avenue;
• Kindred Works – 95 unit mixed-income housing that will include 38 affordable housing units located at 50 Newport Crescent;
• Rehabitat – 60 affordable housing units located on the west side; and
• Steepleview Developments, Inc. – 56 unit mixed-income housing that will include 28 affordable housing units located at 25 Cliff Street.

The selected projects are located within one kilometre of a transit stop or within an Intensification Area of the city.

In order to get funding, the projects were required to comply with the zoning bylaw and municipal plan, and must provide a building permit and proof of funding sources within 12 months of applying.

The city also announced Tuesday that it will apply for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) Rapid Housing Initiative funding program on behalf of four non-profit housing organizations.

They include two projects which were selected for the city’s Affordable Housing Grant Program: Kaleidoscope Social Impact and Rehabitat.

Saint John will also apply for funding on behalf of the John Howard Society and Unified Saint John Housing Co-op for 12-unit supporting housing projects at 12 Troop Street and 53-57 Victoria Street in the north end.

“The program’s Project Stream, launched by CMHC in November 2022, is highly competitive. By partnering with a level of local government, non-profit housing organizations in Saint John face a much greater chance of success in obtaining federal funding,” the city said in a news release.

Saint John’s Affordable Housing Action Plan has set a target that 30 per cent of all new construction will contain affordable housing units over the next five years.

The city said these projects represent a “critical factor” in closing the gap on affordable housing needs for the most vulnerable households and those with support/special needs.