REALTORS^® Invest in Affordable Housing

The CREB^® REALTOR^® Community Foundation has announced that non-profit real estate developer and property manager HomeSpace Society is the recipient of its 2021 Legacy Grant in support of local housing and shelter initiatives.

“This investment from CREB^® REALTOR^® Community Foundation will not only help create affordable homes but also dignity, safety and an opportunity to thrive for nearly 200 Calgarians in need,” said Bernadette Majdell, CEO of HomeSpace Society.

HomeSpace will receive $300,000 to help fund its project to convert Sierra Place, a downtown office tower and former home of Dome Petroleum, into affordable housing.

The project is also one of the first major revitalization efforts under the City of Calgary’s new Greater Downtown Plan, and Majdell says it will “bring vibrancy and economic stimulation to Calgary’s struggling downtown core.”

At completion, the $28.5-million project will feature 82 one-, two- and three-bedroom affordable housing units across six floors, with occupancy scheduled for summer 2022. Funding is expected to come from a variety of sources, including the City of Calgary, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., private donors and the CREB^® REALTOR^® Community Foundation.

“HomeSpace, like all our non-profit partners, is doing fantastic work to provide a home for vulnerable populations in our community and we are proud to support their efforts,” said Murray Scotton, chair of the CREB^® REALTOR^® Community Foundation. “This funding will help increase the supply of safe and affordable housing in Calgary, so more people can have a place to call home.”

The wide-ranging benefits associated with affordable housing are one reason why the Legacy Grant, which is designed to create new housing and shelter options in the local community, is the foundation’s signature funding stream.

The Legacy Grant is complemented by two additional grant streams: the Community Grant and the Transformation Grant. The foundation unveiled all three grant streams in 2020 as part of a new funding framework designed to create new housing, keep people housed and improve housing quality.

“We are focused on funding projects that respond to community need,” said Jason Yule, CREB^®’s director of communication services. “The housing initiative with HomeSpace is new and innovative and something that will create housing for people who need it most, which is right where we want to be.”

The foundation’s Community Grant and Transformation Grant streams will start accepting applications in September.

More information about the Foundation’s grant programs is available here. For more information about HomeSpace Society’s Sierra Place project, click here.

Tagged: Community Investment