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Second set of townhomes to be constructed at Harold Road development

Three men stand looking at a construction blueprint. The men all are wearing yellow reflective vests as well as hard hats. The men are standing in a construction zone with a partly constructed building in the background.
Six Nations Housing has been approved to begin construction on a second five-unit town home development to be located at 49 Harold Rd. in Ohsweken. The project will go towards addressing the current SN Housing residential rental waitlist of 251 applicants. Photo courtesy of Borko Manigoda from Pixabay.
Andrew Dow - CJKS - Ohsweken • ON | 18-07-2023
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Six Nations Housing (SN Housing) received approval to begin construction of a second five-unit townhome development at 49 Harold Rd. in Ohsweken.

The townhomes will be constructed in partnership with Habitat for Humanity Hamilton at the cost of $1,729,000 and will be identical to, and located next to, the Onondaga 1 townhomes in the Harold Road development.

SN Housing Acting Director and Financial Control Officer Lily-Anne Mt. Pleasant says the townhomes will help to address the SN Housing residential rental waitlist which currently has 251 applicants. The new build will house (2) one-bedroom units, (2) two-bedroom units and (1) three-bedroom unit. Mt Pleasant says construction will begin immediately on the second five-unit town home at 49 Harold Rd. in Oshweken.

Mt. Pleasant spoke on the cost of the project compared to the Onondaga 1 build.

"I know that Onondaga 1 was delayed and so the pricing that we received for that one was based on 2021 numbers which is why we see about an eight per cent increase in cost, which kind of aligns with inflation."

She also detailed that Habitat for Humanity's corporate partnerships and volunteer works will allow for a reduced construction cost.

"They utilize gifts in-kind from their corporate suppliers, so that they can kind of capitalize on those economies of scale since they build so much. They have partnerships with companies like Home Depot. So they get them (supplies) at a lower cost than general developers would," she said. "They also utilize volunteer labour, which is overseen by their build staff."

Mt. Pleasant also said that SN Housing has a clause in the contract with Habitat for Humanity that states local contractors must be used as much as possible during the construction.

Six Nations Chief Mark Hill praised the partnership with Habitat for Humanity and says it's nice to see SN Housing tackling the housing crisis on Six Nations.

"It's nice to see really the beauty of these types of partnerships," he said. "It's nice to see that we're addressing as fast and as quick as we can, the housing crisis we have. All while still looking at ways of partnerships, and I think it's a win-win."

SNEC moved and carried the motion to ratify the agreement with Habitat for Humanity Hamilton during the July 17 general finance meeting.

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