An application for funding to build rent-geared-to-income housing units on top of the new Bancroft library was unsuccessful.
Mayor Paul Jenkins says it’s disappointing news, because the town needs housing, plus it delays construction on the planned Cleak Avenue building, for which a ground-breaking ceremony (pictured) was held almost a year ago.
However, he says the town is hoping the application can be reviewed again, if there’s a new round of funding announced in the federal Rapid Housing Initiative.
In the meantime, the town has applied to the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund. That fund doesn’t pay for specific projects but gives municipalities more money for enacting policies that make home-building easier.
Jenkins says when more is known about both, construction on the new library can begin.
“The one thing we said is ‘we’d hate to say, ok we’re doing the library’ and then find out we could have had funding and we missed out on having housing that’s badly needed,” he says. “We’re playing a bit of tight-rope game right now.”
The application, submitted by the Town, was for support to build 28 units for seniors. Jenkins says it’s no shame that the application was not supported, given the high demand. He says there were more than 7,000 applications across the country.