On Thursday, the City of Calgary announced the launch of its $60M Housing Capital Initiative (HCI), one of the many actions the City identified in the housing strategy that was approved last fall.
The $60M will be distributed across the next three years to housing partners and the hope is that it will act as a kind of seed funding that will allow those partners to acquire further funding — at least $140M, the City projects — from other sources, such as other levels of government.
"The Housing Capital Initiative will provide financial support to housing partners in Calgary to leverage funding from programs delivered by other levels of government, public foundations, philanthropic donors and private industry, with the primary goal of increasing non-market housing supply and getting much needed homes for Calgarians," said Amanda Szpecht, Acting Manager of Housing Solutions, in a press release.
According to an HCI applicant guide published by the City, applicants must be "an Alberta or extra-provincial registered charity, society, other not-for-profit entity, or an Indigenous urban social or housing organization with a registered office based in Calgary, or signatory of Treaty 7, the Métis Nation of Alberta, and/or wholly owned subsidiary of The City of Calgary, whose mandate includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the supply and operational management of non-market housing."
Applicants must also show that they have the capacity to handle the project, including "a minimum of three years' experience in developing, delivering, and operating similar housing projects. If an applicant cannot alone satisfy that requirement, it can bring on a project partner that does in order to satisfy the requirement.
Applicants who apply will also need to provide audited financial statements for the past three years, disclose commitments and liabilities, as well as provide letters of reference from financial institutions — among other things. As part of the application process, applicants will also need to provide a budget estimate, schedule, and operational plan for the project.
Funding from the Housing Capital Initiative will also only be made accessible to certain types of projects. Those types of projects are:
- Construction of new residential units;
- Acquisition of existing residential buildings;
- Conversion of non-residential buildings to residential units; and
- Addition of new residential units to existing buildings or properties.
In all cases, the residential units have to be purpose-built rental units and those rental units have to be provided at a certain level of affordability.
"The most recent published Median Income before taxes in Calgary is $98,000 (2020), with 65% of this Median Income before taxes being $63,700," the City says. "Based on this housing need definition, rent that is considered affordable at this income would be $1,592.50 per month. As additional census data is released, this number is subject to change in accordance. For greater clarity, funding from the HCI will only support units with rents of $1,592.50 and below, and approved support spaces. Market units are not eligible for funding from this program."
The criteria and points system the City will use to prioritize applications.(City of Calgary)
Additionally, while mixed-use projects are eligible, commercial floor space within them are not.
"While The City recognizes the value of multi-use design (e.g., retail units, commercial spaces), funding from the HCI will only support non-market residential rental units and approved support spaces for the exclusive use of tenants within the project," the City adds. "Where projects have commercial or other non-residential space, funding will be pro-rated based on space allocation in the building."
The City says that applicants can also apply to other City funding programs and stack funding grants, but notes that the total funding the City will provide towards any given project is capped at a maximum of 30% and that applicants requiring less than 30% of project cost funding will be prioritized.
The application window is now open and will remain so until Thursday, October 10. The City is hosting information sessions on both Tuesday, July 30 and Thursday, September 5.
