Speaking to reporters in Angus, Mayor Valerie Plante and city officials announced a $21.4 million investment in four “affordable” student residences on Thursday. It will finance four buildings, making up 670 units in total.
The city says the grant, which is going to the not-for-profit UTILE, is part of a new “portfolio” approach to housing. Instead of helping fund and approving one project, they’re collaborating on several at once to help speed up the process.
The announcement is part of the city’s larger housing strategy, Loger+. On Tuesday, Plante set the goal of having 20 per cent of Montreal’s housing be social and affordable units by 2050, with $3 million and a streamlined permit process to help.
Still, that approach has come under fire from tenants’ groups, who say the city is not using all the tools at its disposal when it comes to fighting the housing crisis.
