NORTH Hastings Supported Housing Committee moves forward with housing project

June 22, 2009, Bancroft, ON THE North Hastings Supported Housing Committee is pleased to announce the advancement of their Housing Project with the hiring of Sherry Hayes as the Project Manager.

Hayes has been hired to prepare the business plan to be used in attracting potential builders and developers for the project.

The North Hastings Supported Housing Committee recently received $20,000.00 in SEED funding from the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC) to be used to prepare the business plan, explore funding opportunities, develop a preliminary housing design and prepare a feasibility analysis.

The committee, which is comprised of local agencies, organizations and individuals, is excited to proceed with the development of a 20-30 unit, multi-use, completely accessible, integrated and supported housing complex that will show case ‘green’ technologies. The project proposes to include a mix of market value units, rent geared to income, condos and life leases.

Hayes would like to hear from any individuals who may be interested in living in such a building. At this time the project proposes to provide housing units to single people, couples, seniors and people with disabilities. Support to individuals living in the building will be provided in partnership by various agencies.

She would also like to hear from local builders and contractors who may have interest in this project, particularly builders with experience in sustainable building practices. The project already has money committed to it and the committee believes this could be a very viable opportunity for potential developers. The plan is to use local resources wherever possible.

“The timing of this project is perfect”, says Hayes. “ This will compliment what is already happening in our community in respect to the Build Bancroft development. It will provide desperately needed housing in innovative ways that will only serve to attract positive attention to North Hastings.”

To learn more about this project or inquire about housing or development opportunities, Hayes can be contacted at 613-332-6110 or via email at sherryhayes@xplornet.com

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Sherry Hayes, Project Manager, North Hastings Supported Housing
613-332-6110
sherryhayes@xplornet.com

Council’s decision to dissolve the Revitalization Committee and essentially turn control for downtown development over to an outside consulting firm sends a clear and very disturbing message about how the input of skilled, hard working and visionary community members is not valued or really wanted. The Revitalization Committee, made up of numerous dedicated local volunteers, has reached out to the community on many occasions to help create a vision that reflects what people say they want for their community. This approach is a ‘ground up’ and proven system of sustainable community development.

The Build Bancroft model is inflexible and “top down” (to use OEB consultant Greg Black’s term). We will be told what our town will look like. This is not an approach that seeks to work cooperatively with existing community groups, volunteers and resources to achieve affordable, sustainable, made-in-Bancroft development. Instead, this top down model creates its own new committees (some believe that these committees are just a façade), and shuts down and/or sidelines existing projects and plans – anything that isn’t “theirs”.

I believe that Council wants to do what is in the best interests of the citizens it represents. They recognize that there are many exciting possibilities for our town’s development. The Action Planning meeting hosted by the Revitalization Committee several weeks ago clearly demonstrated that there are a lot of people in this town who have excellent ideas, expertise, and a willingness to work together for our community’s growth and development.

To create truly sustainable and healthy communities, we need to be actively engaged as citizens, and not let someone else tell us what we’ll get. It’s not too late to re-think our direction. There are many excellent ideas that we, as a community, can still take charge of and develop. There is a lot of local expertise in securing grants and other funding. And we certainly have many excellent contractors in the area that would be able to do the work required.

What do you want your town to look like? Who should profit from new development? Who do you want in charge?

The County Warden will be there to speak, Mayor Churchill has been invited as have Jim Burrows from Bancroft Rental, Lou and Dan Freymond from Freymond Lumber, representatives from Leveque Bros, and Dave Redwood.

Everyone is welcome…

Please plan to attend if you are:

• - pro-active to community and business growth
• - enjoy challenges
• - are business minded

Two distinct sets of meetings are planned. One to share results with the public. The following, to plan next steps for revitalization.

Meetings are being held in Maynooth, Coe Hill and Bancroft at the following dates/times:

Public Results Sharing Meetings
Maynooth – Tuesday, April 14 at 7 PM at the Maynooth Community Centre
Coe Hill – Thursday, April 16 at 7 PM at the Wollaston Community Centre
Bancroft – Wednesday, April 29 at 7 PM at Club 580

Action Planning Sessions
Coe Hill – May 4 at 6 PM at the Wollaston Community Centre
Maynooth – May 5 at 6 PM at the Maynooth Community Centre
Bancroft – May 11 at 6 PM at Club 580

For more information please leave a request below or download the PDF file here: Revitalization of Bancroft – Survey Results.

“The province is providing $75,000 toward the Re-Developing Downtown Bancroft project. The funding will help develop a plan that identifies what initiatives are needed to attract investors, developers and private/public partnerships. ”

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First handout showcasing potential redevelopment of downtown Bancroft (January 2009) (pdf)

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Bancroft This Week (regularly reporting on the redevelopment project)

The price tag for phase one of the plan has been estimated to cost around $2.9 million that will be spent over the next year.

Churchill said that the hope is that the town will acquire government funding to the tune of $2.5 million to go along with other in kind contributions by the town and other public sector investors willing to be a part of the project.

The expectation is that the final cost of the first phase on the Town of Bancroft would be in the range of $35,000 to 60,000 if all funding initiatives are successful over the course of this portion of the project.”

“The only recorded vote against moving forward with the research stage for the re-development was a cautious Bernice Jenkins who only stated that after much personal and public discussion she could not vote to move forward. ”

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Source: Bancroft This Week http://www.bancroftthisweek.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1498864

Share your thoughts or comments below….

“Do We Really Need All of This?” was one of the hottest topics in the conversations that took place with many contributors making very valid, insightful and at times, purely emotional posts.

What is your opinion?

Have your say – whether you are a regular visitor, cottage owner, year round resident, or simply a passerby of Bancroft’s downtown area. We’d love to hear what you think!

The new one will be here for download shortly. In the meantime here is the one the town created. Click here to download/open/read/save the file.

The reason for this unofficial release is an attempt to reach more of our seasonal visitors and to garner more interest from outlying areas on plans to breathe new life into an old town. In fact, Bancroft turns 130 years old this year!