Article
CBRE Builds Hope With Collaborative Affordable Housing in Halifax
September 26, 2024 4 Minute Read
More than one hundred people in need just made Mount Hope Village, NS, their new home, with an assist from CBRE Capital on arranging financing for the $12 million project.
In a welcome break from tales of long delays and drawn-out approvals, a 32-unit affordable housing development advanced from concept to delivery in less than a year, thanks to collaboration between non-profit organizations, businesses and three levels of government.
The tenants are women-led families who were housing insecure or homeless. Many of these include young mothers, Indigenous women, and women with experiences of violence and their children.
“It was touching to see the community come together to make this happen,” says Krissy Fry, Senior Vice President with CBRE Capital. Fry and her colleague Jenna Williams helped secure financing for the project. “We're proud to have played a role in helping these families put down roots and live in safe housing.”
Facing the Crisis
Miia Suokonautio, a social worker and executive director of YWCA Halifax, had a vision to create more affordable housing in Halifax and its surrounding areas. In 2023, she identified a particular opportunity for the YWCA to get involved by partnering with governments and developers to find a solution to the housing crisis. However, while not-for-profits often have access to favourable financing conditions, these groups can lack the real estate expertise needed to develop affordable housing and get the best pricing on construction.
Suokonautio had listened to podcast Fry had recorded for the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia. In it Fry discussed the need for different levels of government, not-for-profit and private community groups to work together to make affordable housing viable. “The podcast sparked a connection between CBRE and the YWCA because Miia found out we were advocating for the same collaborative approach,” says Fry. “That initiated a strong relationship between us.”
Come Together
Soon several dozens of other professionals – lawyers, brokers, property managers and government workers – joined the effort and the wheels were set in motion. Although they came from various backgrounds, these professionals had one thing in common: a desire to find new solutions to the housing crisis.
“We were eager to provide our expertise and give back to our community,” says Fry. “Once we got to know each other, we found new ways to collaborate that wouldn’t have occurred to us in isolation.”
This was no typical transaction. Although Fry and Williams were familiar with the financing programs available across different levels of government, they had never used them for a not-for-profit in this fashion.
Williams, who had joined CBRE a few months prior, embraced the challenge by putting together thorough applications for various financing programs. “There was no template for what we were doing but we all wanted this project to work,” she says. “We wanted to ensure that we had done everything we could to make it happen.”
Fry and Williams leveraged their expertise to help the project’s team navigate approvals, arrange successful funding and coordinate legal and cost considerations. They acted as intermediaries to keep everyone aligned throughout the process, building strong relationships with different levels of government in the process.
Once financing from the federal government, the Province of Nova Scotia and Halifax Regional Municipality was secured, the two and three-storey modular townhomes were manufactured offsite, then delivered and set up in Mount Hope Village. While manufactured housing has presented challenges in the past due to financing constraints, Fry says that is starting to shift. “The industry is finally starting to recognize the benefits of offsite manufacturing in building affordable housing quickly.
“It’s a solution we cannot and should not overlook.”
One Small Step
Fry and Williams were each awarded a plaque for their work on the project during a recent YWCA-led housewarming event. The plaques were presented to 32 people involved in the project and will be installed in the new units.
“In the face of a crisis, Halifax’s community stepped up and made a difference that has the potential to change lives,” Suokonautio says. “These families will now know security, dignity and community.”
Fry hopes this success story can inspire others. “We need to think creatively about the housing crisis,” she says. “When we roll up our sleeves and collaborate, we can find housing solutions and get things built.
“Now that the recipe has been tested, it’s time to replicate it elsewhere.”
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