Lambton County expects a new affordable housing property to be move-in ready this spring.
Acting Manager of Housing Services Melisa Johnson said the county acquired a duplex at 244 Devine Street in Sarnia in November 2022.
Johnson said there is only one other county-owned building that has this designation, a seniors complex on Maxwell Street.
"We are finding more and more frequently that households are requesting smoke-free due to allergies or just preferences with not being exposed to smoke so this is another opportunity in the community to have a smoke-free building," she said.
Renovations at the Devine Street property are expected to be complete by the end of May, with occupancy expected in early to mid-June.
"We're actually going to start the process of offering those units, probably in the next couple of weeks," Johnson said.
The duplex consists of two one-bedroom units.
"It will be rent geared to income," she said. "One unit will be filled from the centralized wait list, [and] one unit will be filled from the by-name list, so an individual in the community that is experiencing homelessness."
The county initially wasn't approved to receive provincial funding for this project but Johnson said they recently found out the county was successful in receiving 75 per cent of the project costs, which is about $375,000. The investment from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing meant that the withdrawal from the county's Affordable Housing Reserve was reduced to $125,000.
Now that the Devine Street project is nearly completed, no other reports regarding the property will go to council.
