Plan would add 44 apartment units in downtown Sudbury

If approved, the project would renovate the upper floors of the four-story building at 65 Larch St., creating 44 residential units. (Supplied)

City council in Greater Sudbury will vote next week on whether to support a plan to add 44 apartment units to the upper floors of a building on Larch Street.

The developers are seeking $917,500 in incentive funding under the city’s community improvement plan, an amount that exceeds the maximum funding.

However, under the plan’s criteria, applications that exceed the maximum can be considered if they involve more than 10 residential units and the amount isn’t more than 50 per cent of the entire cost of the project.

In this case, the total budget is $5.4 million, said a staff report on the proposal headed to city council April 28.

“The proposal also aligns with the focus areas and housing targets of the housing supply strategy, by adding needed housing in a targeted intensification area, supporting goals for compact, complete communities and responding to housing shortages and low vacancy rates in the urban core,” the report said.

No impact on taxes

The money would come from an existing fund – the Housing Accelerator Fund – and so wouldn’t affect municipal taxes.

If approved, the project would renovate the upper floors of the four-story building at 65 Larch St., creating 44 residential units.

The developer is seeking $20,000 per unit under the Housing Accelerator Fund, in addition to $30,00 under a permit fee rebate plan and $7,500 to help with a market feasibility study.

Under an agreement with the federal government, the city has set aside $2.5 million from the Housing Accelerator Fund for housing projects.

“This proposal would meet the parameters,” the report said in recommending that the plan be approved.

Read the full report here.