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Construction begins for new five-unit housing project on Six Nations

A group of people standing. A man and woman in the middle of the photo hold a document to show for the picture. Trees in the background of a construction site.
Counci
Andrew Dow - CJKS - Ohsweken • ON | 06-02-2023
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There's a new five-unit housing project underway on Six Nations with construction beginning late last month.

"Onondaga 1" is a five-unit housing project that aims to provide safe and affordable rental options for families within the Six Nations of the Grand River. The site's foundation was laid on Jan. 24 with a special foundation celebration that was attended by Six Nations Couns. Helen Miller, Sherri-Lyn Hill and Greg Frazer.

The project was created through a partnership with Hamilton Habitat for Humanity and Habitat for Humanity Heartland and Six Nations of the Grand River.

Six Nations Housing Acting Director and Financial Control Officer Lily-Anne Mt. Pleasant spoke on the role that Habitat for Humanity played in the project and her hopes to continue to work collaboratively on more projects with each other.

"The team at Habitat Hamilton and Habitat Heartland are great people to work with. They are the general contractor for this build, so they are involved in every aspect of the planning and implementation. I came into this role with the ball already rolling on this build, and they’ve been vital in getting me up to speed. I hope to continue this partnership on future builds."

Habitat for Humanity has committed to supporting more home build projects in Indigenous communities through its Indigenous Housing Partnership.

The organization has stated that while affordable housing affects many people in Canada those problems are exemplified in Indigenous communities, with one in five Indigenous peoples living in a dwelling that was in need of major repairs, according to 2016 data.

Mt. Pleasant said that Six Nations was able to also benefit financially from the partnership, especially when taking COVID-19 into consideration with material costs.

"Their support has been essential to this project. The cost benefit alone is the only reason this project wasn’t postponed, as the increases in materials due to COVID scarcity put this build significantly over what was originally budgeted."

Six Nations Housing stated that Onondaga 1 will be fully occupied by next winter.

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