United Way embarks on ambitious Exeter affordable housing project

CTV’s Scott Miller as the United Way Perth Huron unveils its next affordable housing project planned for Exeter.

A two-acre plot of land behind an Exeter church will soon be home to the United Way’s next affordable housing project.

“We’re here to make sure that more people in our communities have safe and affordable housing of their choosing,” said Ryan Erb, executive director of the United Way of Perth-Huron.

A multi-story affordable housing complex is the vision United Housing has for the land behind Exeter’s Pentecostal Tabernacle, located on the southern edge of Exeter.

Noah’s Ark Community Table and United Way’s Connection Centre for unhoused Exeter area residents are already located in the church’s basement.

“It’s kind of an extension of what we’re already doing, which I love. And we already have a bit of a community feel downstairs with what we’re doing, so we want to extend that community feel out to this housing project and just have services available to our clients, food, whatever they need to help them stay housed,” said Andrea Loohuizen, associate pastor at Exeter Pentecostal Tabernacle and volunteer co-ordinator at the United Way’s Exeter Connection Centre.

Not eager to be landlords themselves, the church is selling the land at a discounted rate to United Housing, but they still need to raise $150,000 to purchase the property and start pre-development work.

United Housing already has $55,000 in the bank, thanks to donations from Maclean’s Home Hardware, Lipman Farms, and $25,000 donations from Jayden’s Mechanical and the McCann Group.

“Things are expensive. And it’s very difficult for a younger person to afford a home here in our local communities, which is such a shame. So, we’re hoping this can help kickstart some things and maybe, you know, find some solutions to the problem,” said Jesse McCann, a partner with the McCann Group, which is a masonry and concrete company based out of Dashwood.

The timeline for this project is three to five years away, because the Municipality of South Huron has to bring sewer and water to the proposed site, but those involved say they have to start these projects sometime, and that time is now.

“You need to start somewhere. And it’s a good place to start in smaller communities, because sometimes we get overlooked. So, it’s great to do this kind of locally where I grew up and help where I can,” said Jayden Desjardine, owner of Jayden’s Mechanical, based in Exeter.

United Housing has affordable housing projects underway in Listowel and Stratford. Their goal is to add 100 affordable housing units to Huron-Perth by 2030. They might just reach that goal with the Exeter project alone.

“No one’s coming to rescue us anytime soon. Federal and provincial money is largely keyed on larger urban centers. But if we do bring projects to the fore that are shovel ready, and that’s the critical thing, an organization has to lead and has to get to that point where we have projects shovel ready. We believe the government at all levels will invest in our projects. We just have to be able to show the vision and say, ‘Hey, this region’s ready,’ but you don’t get there unless you have an organization that’s ready to take the leap. And that’s why we created United Housing,” said Erb.

The County of Huron recently invested $20 million to add 70 affordable housing units to the region. United Housing has set a goal of raising $100,000 by March 31, 2026 to get their Exeter project off the ground.