The first 24 units of an innovative affordable home-ownership project at Benny Farm, located on the corner of Cavendish and Benny, are now ready for occupancy!

For nearly 20 years, a group of NDG community activists, including Arnold Bennett, long-time head of the Housing Hotline, and Jason Hughes, who now manages Co-op La Maison Verte, have been fighting to save Benny Farm for affordable housing. This long struggle involved many stages, many frustrating setbacks and some surprising breakthroughs.

The efforts of a broad coalition of community groups produced about 200 units of affordable rental housing on the Benny Farm site in new and recycled buildings—housing for seniors, young mothers, co-ops and special needs.

But just a few years ago, it seemed that the rest of the site would go to private developers, who would build condos priced beyond the reach of most NDG residents. That's when Bennett, Hughes and Bob Cohen, former CEO of the City of Montreal's housing development agency, SHDM*, realized that HCNDG**, a local non-profit corporation, could bid on the "private sector" part of the site.

They came up with the idea of a non-profit, community-run home-ownership project, priced below market with a formula that would guarantee that the units would remain affordable in the long term. There was strong positive response in the community and over 80 people had signed statements of interest by the time NDG's non-profit community housing development corporation, HCNDG, submitted a bid to Canada Lands Corporation for three sites, totalling 74 units.

In preparing the project, HCNDG enlisted consultants Allan Gaudreault, formerly a senior advisor at SHDM, Georges Bonhomme, former director of the City of Montreal's Urban Planning Department, and Mark Poddubiuk, who produced the original architectural design. It obtained startup support from the local economic development corporation (CDEC) and went into partnership with SHDM to finance the project.

HCNDG's proposal, the Affordable Home Ownership Initiative (AHOI) won the bid, beating out private developers with more traditional concepts.

AHOI will provide relief to low and moderate-income families from the cycle of dependence on an unstable and increasingly expensive rental housing market. It offers opportunities for home ownership for those who are unable to afford the current NDG market prices. It will also maintain these units as affordable for future generations and continue to work in partnership with residents and community groups to improve the quality of life within our neighborhoods.

With an added focus on environmental sustainability and community development we are interested in developing innovative solutions that effectively provide affordable housing to local residents.

Because we're non-profit, our goal is not to make money from such an initiative. As a result, no profit for HCNDG translates to lower prices for purchasers. Individuals and families can take advantage of municipal subsidies within the initiative, again, allowing for lower housing costs overall.

In a first phase, two-bedroom and 3-bedroom units are available for immediate occupancy on Monkland Avenue, in the heart of a newly redeveloped community in NDG—on major bus routes, close to schools, parks, recreational facilities and shopping (Sherbrooke Street and Monkland Village).

Pricing is highly competitive at an estimated 17% below market levels.

Features include:

• Green components - Geothermal heating and NOVOCLIMAT certification, resulting in significant savings in energy costs;
• Private outdoor parking;
• Down payments at a reduced rate of 12 to 14% made possible by government subsidies;
• Notary fees covered in part by our partner, the Caisse Populaire.

This is hopefully the first of many initiatives to come.

For additional information feel free to consult HCNDG.org or contact us on 514.886.7462 to make an appointment.

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* HCNDG: Habitations communautaires NDG, a community-run non-profit corporation
** SHDM: Société d'habitation et de développement de Montréal, a municipal housing and development corporation