Wawa Municipal Council's considering offering financial incentives to support a private developer planning to build new housing in town.
In a special meeting last night, CAO/Clerk Maury O'Neill told Council about a draft Community Improvement Plan for proposed housing at 39 Algoma Street - 2.11 acres of property Council declared surplus earlier this month and agreed last week to sell to a private developer for $150,000 "for the purposes of housing development".
Council was told the developer intends to build a minimum of 15 new housing units on the property, but there's a need for financial incentives to "facilitate construction", so a site-specific Community Improvement Plan's proposed - similar to the one in place for the downtown - to offer financial incentives such as a "tax increment program" - also offered under the Broadway CIP, it would offer a grant to offset property tax increases stemming from the development, initially covering the entire increase, phased out over multiple years - though there's also a proposal for up to $10,000 per housing unit built, with conditions including a limit on the number of units that could be covered.
Mayor Melanie Pilon and Councillor Cathy Cannon both acknowledged the difficulty in getting developers to build in town, emphasizing the need for incentives - with Pilon noting this development would put the Municipality on track to meet its housing commitment - while Councillor Jim Hoffmann asked about the timeline for the Algoma Street Watermain & Sanitary Sewer project - which will help facilitate the new housing - told that the contractor, Villeneuve Construction, has ordered materials and there is a commitment to ensure services are in place for the end of August.
An official meeting is needed under the Planning Act to approve a CIP, so one is scheduled for the next Council meeting night, July 14th.