A new housing co-op in Upper Hammonds Plains will see 136 new affordable homes built over the next year and a half.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the property at 195 Equestrian Lane on Saturday afternoon.
The project, which includes 29 accessible units, has received $61 million in federal funding, and will be called the Upper Hammonds Plains Housing Co-operative. It is designed to preserve and strengthen African Nova Scotian culture and heritage while providing safe, affordable housing, the government said in a news release.
“The federal government has a strong role to play in building non-market housing to provide more affordable housing options for Canadians, and this includes co-operative housing,” Sackville-Bedford-Preston MP Braeden Clark said in the release. “This project shows how co-ops can provide affordable, inclusive, and sustainable homes that respond directly to local needs.”
Construction is expected to be done by spring 2027.
“This groundbreaking shows what grassroots, community-led organizing can do: deliver transformational projects and non-market homes that stay affordable for generations, insulated from market turbulence,” said Curtis Whiley, the president of the Upper Hammonds Plains Community Land Trust.
The funding comes from the Co-operative Housing Development Program, a $1.5-billion federal program for new co-op housing development. The program supports the creation of co-op homes that are more affordable than private market rentals and provide options for middle-income households.
“The Upper Hammonds Plains Housing Co-operative is a powerful example of what’s possible when governments, builders, and communities come together with shared purpose,” Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore said in the release.
“For generations, African Nova Scotian communities like Upper Hammonds Plains have shaped Halifax’s history, resilience and identity. This project … honours that legacy while supporting the families who will soon call this place home.”