Affordable housing complex now home to 42 Edmonton families

Fourty-two Edmonton families have a place to call home, thanks to a city program meant to help lower income families looking for housing.

The grand opening for the 42-unit Cedar Roots Housing Co-op townhouse development in the Castle Downs neighbourhood of Baturyn was held Saturday morning.

The affordable townhomes were developed with the help of a $6.3 million investment by the city and the province through the Cornerstones Affordable Housing Program.

“It means a lot for people who are coming here to live and have a good, safe and high-quality environment to raise their children in and I think it speaks a lot to the community and to the opportunity it’s going to create and the end result is a great thing for the City of Edmonton,” said Mayor Stephen Mandel.

More than half of the townhome’s residents are new Canadians with larger families who would normally have difficulty finding housing to meet their needs.

Leila Salim and her family have already moved into their townhome.

Salim says she’s excited to live in a great community with her family.

“It’s beautiful. The kids have kids to play with. We’re really enjoying it,” she said.

“I really like it because you always have somebody to talk to, somebody close by and kids have somebody to play with and if you need something you know who to run to. We all know each other. I enjoy that.”

The development is full – with 24 three-bedroom units, six four-bedroom units, and 12 two-bedroom units.

The townhomes are also energy efficient – featuring high-efficiency furnaces and solar collector panels on the roofs. The features are meant to ensure ongoing affordability.

The Cornerstones Plan is an imitative to increase the number of long-term affordable housing units in Edmonton – and increase income support and services for lower income Edmontonians.

“It creates a great life for people and it’s all about building a better community,” Mandel said.