If Elected, Gillingham Will Build Modular Homes On City-Owned Plots
Winnipeg, MA, mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham has his eye on modular construction. According to Gillingham, if he is elected as mayor during the Fall election, he plans to build modular housing units on six city-owned vacant lots to help those experiencing homelessness.
The councilor for St. James pledged in late June to create a minimum of 270 modular housing units in the city. The homes will be built off-site and then transported to a permanent location using funds from the Government of Canada’s rapid housing initiative (RHI).
Under the proposal made by Gillingham, the city would waive permit and land costs, in addition to property taxes, while accelerating the zoning approval process. Gillingham said he would help guide the council in pre-selecting the designated six sites for the modular homes to speed up the process. Once constructed, non-profit organizations would be expected to take over ownership and operation of the individual sites.
According to Gillingham, ‘The answer to homelessness is not to push homeless camps from one park to another and expect that homeless people will just find a way. It’s to bring people who need help to secure places where they can safely access support and to create secure spaces where service can safely access them.
Scott Gillingham is one of 11 candidates who have registered mayoral campaigns to replace Mayor Brian Bowman, who is not running for re-election. The other ten candidates are Idris Adelakun, Rana Bokhari, Chris Clacio, Shaun Loney, Jenny Motkaluk, Glen Murray, Robert-Falcon Oullette, Rick Shone, Desmond Thomas, and Don Woodstock.
A Good Start, But More Is Needed
For more information on Scott Gillingham's proposals for modular housing in Winnipeg, go to CBC.ca:
Manitoba Non-Profit Housing Association executive director Christina Maes Nino said the proposal would be a good start.
But she wishes the city would remove red tape for all affordable housing projects that could get people off the streets and away from living in bus shelters.
For example, some cities waive permit costs and speed up zoning approval processes for all affordable housing projects, she said.
"Just doing it for six lots is definitely not enough," she said.
Developing affordable housing is expensive, which is why these projects are usually funded by multiple levels of government, she said. But cities can play a significant role in reducing costs and red tape.
"That will make a lot of projects much more viable and reduce the amount of funding required from other levels of government."
From Winnipeg Mayoral Candidate Gillingham Wants Affordable Housing Built on Vacant City-Owned Lots - CBC
Photo Source: BRYDON MCCLUSKEY via. Unsplash
Do you think Gillingham’s proposal will help the city? Should more cities begin building modular homes on vacant city plots?
Written by S2A Modular & Associates Inc.
June 29th, 2022