City looks to double housing construction as soon as possible after adopting new action plan

The plan said Prince Albert is already short about 1,470 homes that would be affordable to households living in the city today. It also projected that the city will need another 1,097 units by 2036 to accommodate expected growth.

To meet those needs, the city would have to increase housing production from an average of 87 units a year to about 160 units a year across the housing continuum.

Powalinsky said that target is ambitious, especially with the Victoria Hospital expansion expected to create more demand when it opens in 2028.

“The thing that I certainly am cautious with is that we have a bump coming,” he said. “We can’t rely on and have a false sense of security about doing 160 a year. In 2028, when the hospital expansion opens, we’re going to have an influx of people, hopefully, and we’ve got to be smart.”

Four areas of action

The strategy identifies four main areas of action: infill development and land strategy, civic incentives, adaptive policy and regulations, and Indigenous housing partnerships. It also calls for a housing working group, a housing facilitator, annual reporting on housing targets, and changes to the city’s housing reserve policy.

Powalinsky said the city will have to move faster than it has in the past if it wants to close the gap.

“I’ll be honest, it’s ambitious. It’s challenging,” he said. “We can’t do the traditional approaches we’ve done for land acquisition and development. We’ve got to be able to move quickly. And frankly, that means working with private industry to come up with the solutions.”

He said the plan comes at a good time because budget discussions are approaching and council will need to decide how to support the work.

“There’s a lot of pieces we need to kick into high gear very quickly,” Powalinsky said. “It’s all got to come together, and time is of the essence.”

Housing co-ordinator

One of the first steps could be deciding where a housing co-ordinator should be based. Powalinsky said there was some discussion about whether that person should work inside city hall or elsewhere in the community.

“My personal feeling is the co-ordinator should be based in the community somewhere,” he said. “They can be working with the community, I think, with a little more freedom to respond to issues and needs and challenges.”

Private sector

Powalinsky said the city has already seen interest from the private sector, including a contractor that purchased 22 lots for phased development over several years. He also said the Construction Association of Saskatchewan is interested in how the city can streamline approvals and inspections.

“Every part of the city, from one angle or another, is going to be involved in this housing plan,” he said, pointing to areas such as communications, finance, corporate services, the mayor’s office, and parks and recreation.

Bigger infrastructure demands

The mayor said the plan is also connected to the city’s broader infrastructure planning, including major upgrades to water and related systems.

“We have to get out ahead of our projections,” Powalinsky said. “We should be maybe looking at double that rate of growth because PA, as the hub and the heartbeat of the north, as business and industry develops north of us, that’s going to come back as growth for our city.”

Powalinsky said the city will also need to work closely with First Nations and Métis governments as Prince Albert grows.

“We need to have a robust partnership with both organizations to help move this thing along, this strategic plan,” he said.

The strategy suggests the city will not become a large-scale housing developer or landlord. Instead, its role will be to provide land, incentives, regulation, coordination and data so builders, non-profits, financial institutions, Indigenous governments and senior government programs can help deliver housing.

Some is already happening. Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation began construction on the first of a group of apartment buildings in the West Hill this summer and the Metis Nation will bring in pre-fabricated homes that will be sold as rent-to-own units not far away this fall.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

by Susan McNeil

City looks to double housing construction as soon as possible after adopting new action plan

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