Multiple homes in Sudbury being renovated for affordable housing

As part of the Reside Program, Raising the Roof has officially purchased five homes from the City of Greater Sudbury.

Renovations have started and once the homes are fixed up, they will be rented out to those in need of affordable housing.

"The ground floor units will all be three bedrooms and basement units will all be two-bedroom units. The best use of these spaces is going to be for families," said Adrian Dingle, director of housing development at Raising the Roof.

"It’s rare that you see a three-bedroom unit in one of these neighbourhoods and it’s a great opportunity for a family that might be at risk of experiencing homelessness or just needs that extra support on rent."

The group said there is clearly a need for new affordable places for people to live.

"It was really brought to our attention by our partners locally within Sudbury and members of staff and council who are interested in seeing a solution," said Dingle.

Reside Program

Community Builders North is a social enterprise construction company. It hires and trains individuals who have barriers to employment.

"Barriers could include having had experience in the criminal justice system, having never finished high school, having never had a job, even new immigrants to our community," said Carly Gasparini, the construction company's managing director.

"All those people that have had barriers getting into construction ... we train them in the skills they need to be successful," said Gasparini.

"We also need workers in our community. So, why not connect the people who most want to work with jobs that are available?"

Gasparini said with the help of the trainees, the work outside should be complete within the next few weeks and then the renovations will begin on the inside.

"We’re really excited to get inside the houses, but ultimately, Raising the Roof’s goal and our goal is to get these houses online and back into the rental market as soon as possible so that we can get people housed and living the best life," said Gasparini.

The renovations on all five homes are set to be complete within the next 18 months.