Saint John will start taking applications on Friday for its new Housing Accelerator Fund program.
Three grant streams are meant to help incentivize the creation of more housing supply in the city.
Housing Manager Andrew Reid gave council an overview of the new program earlier this week.
Reid said applicants for each of the funding streams will be evaluated based on a scorecard.
“The scorecard bases projects primarily on the merits of the project itself, its location, as well as the applicant, applicant timeline, capability and need,” he told council.
One of the streams of funding will be focused on construction challenges specific to Saint John.
Reid said applicants to that stream could be eligible to receive up to $150,000.
“Challenges may include rock breaking and importation of fill and remediation,” he said.
Another example project is converting a former school or office building into residential units.
A second stream of funding will focus on “missing middle” housing and offers up to $150,000 per applicant.
Examples include a homeowner renovating and creating a basement apartment or garden suite or a developer constructing a 10-unit small-footprint townhouse development.
The fully serviced development must create at least four new units or propose one new accessory dwelling unit.
The third stream of funding looks to incentivize revitalizing rental stock by providing up to $50,000 per application.
Reid said the first intake round will run until Nov. 30. Funding will be committed through quarterly grant cycles based on funding availability.
More details can be found on the city’s website.
