Project Information Session Q&A
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The following Q&A summarizes our Project Information Session held in October. Thank you again to everyone who attended, followed up, or reached out since. We look forward to our next public session!
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us here.
Who is Otter Housing Association?
Otter Housing Association (OHA) is a nonprofit organization governed by a Board of five local directors: Carrie Hookey, Jill White, Chelsea Mitchell, David Ellis, and Nicholas Bailey. The organization is supported by one employee, Olivia White, who serves as the Community Project Coordinator.
The Port Rexton area is home to all of us and Otter Housing was born from our firsthand experiences with housing challenges in the community. Our shared commitment to the long-term sustainability of our area drives our passion and dedication to this project.
Who is the Project Management Team?
The Project Management Team (PMT) is composed of four representatives: two from Otter Housing Association and two from the Port Rexton Town Council. The team includes Olivia White, David Ellis, Dean Bailey, and Chris Kelly. The PMT meet bi-weekly to ensure both organizations remain informed. It is responsible for making decisions related to the project and other HAF initiatives.
What housing challenges does Port Rexton face?
We all know families and individuals who have struggled to find rental housing, purchase property, or navigate the lengthy Crown Lands process. These are the conversations we often have around our supper tables. The difficulty in finding adequate housing means that those who want to make a home here, whether they have family roots, have found employment, have ideas to create employment, or simply have discovered the beauty of what life has to offer here are unable to do so. This puts the long-term sustainability of our area at risk.
To highlight the urgency of this issue, Port Rexton’s 2018 Strategic Plan (available on the Town’s website) identified a key challenge: “When comparing the observed versus ideal population trends, the sustainability of the population depends on in-migration. At least 37 individuals, aged 25 to 35, are required over the next five years to maintain population growth.”
What has Otter Housing achieved so far?
We officially incorporated in October 2021. Since then, we’ve successfully secured numerous federal and provincial grants, acquired land, built a project management team, hired a design team, and even traveled to the UK for design research, among other accomplishments! We’ve kept our website up-to-date, so feel free to explore our timeline and learn more about everything we’ve been working on.
What is the current stage of the project?
Since securing significant funding this past spring, we’ve officially begun the design phase with our architecture team, Woodford Architecture. We are designing a development with 12 units with a mix of 2- and 3-bedroom homes. The project will incorporate a co-housing model, with private, self-contained units alongside shared spaces that can be utilized as office space, added storage, a workshop, etc. It is our hope these shared spaces will be available to the larger Trinity Bight area should there be a demand. For example, there may be a desire to have a children’s space that could accommodate a daycare, or a office space which remote workers could avail.
The location of our project is on Batson’s Road in Port Rexton. The road has been extended by the Town of Port Rexton to reach our property. The road will be owned and maintained by the Town, and treated the same as other roads in our community. As such, it will be subject to the same regulations and standards as all municipal roads.
Our current grants fully cover the design phase, allowing us to produce the necessary drawings, cost estimates, and documentation to secure further construction grants and loans.
Who is this project for?
That’s easy! This project is for us. It’s for families, couples and single people; older and younger looking to live in Port Rexton year round. At this time, we do not have specific eligibility criteria beyond those outlined in our grants. We are committed to provide a number of affordable units for people whose income is less than a prescribed amount. Accessibility is also a key priority for funders. We are working closely with our funders and team to ensure these priorities are met.
Other initiatives
In addition to our capital project, we are pursuing other affordable housing initiatives funded by the Housing Accelerator Fund. These include the development of a Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Plan, research into introducing modular housing to the area, and the creation of new affordable housing policies for the town. For example, the Town recently amended the zoning to include our site on Batson’s Road in the “Village Zone.” The Town Council is currently working with our Town Planner on a second amendment package, which will be posted publicly in the new year. You can stay updated on these initiatives by following our website and social media.