It's no secret that housing is holding a lot of people back in Estevan.
With such an inaccessible market employers are having trouble growing businesses, and finding appropriate living spaces in reasonable price ranges is becoming the toughest thing anybody has to do when they come to the Energy City.
There are options for those who aren't earning the big bucks that some jobs in the southeast provide with socialized housing available through the Estevan Housing Authority. For those who qualify for the housing, it doesn't always take very long to move off the waiting list and into a residence. The majority of the housing is targeted to individuals under a certain income and asset level.
The program is used by people for a number of reasons, but it is available for residents who spend more than 30 per cent of their income on providing shelter. Rent for these units is then calculated as a percentage of the tenant's income.
There is currently no waiting list for the senior housing. There are 13 people without dependents and 16 families waiting on the applicant list. Those individuals and families have been screened and approved for housing and are now waiting for something to come available in Estevan.
Those lists are also prioritized based on need rather than a first-come, first-served basis.
Dianne Baird, executive director of the Social Services Housing Network, said the waiting lists in Estevan are reasonably short and have been for awhile.
"That's very normal that we have an applicant list and folks who are waiting," said Baird.
Those who haven't contacted the Estevan Housing Authority but feel they may be eligible for socialized housing, should make contact and get on the list, Baird suggested.
The local socialized housing scene features 180 senior living residences and 115 reserved for families. Baird noted they provide some funding for another 52 units.
"There's always a certain number of folks in any community that need social housing. In terms of the market situation in Estevan, I don't think that it's actually driven up the (applicant) numbers to any great extent," said Baird. "Folks that have limited resources, whether it's a hot community or not, there is always that need. Because of the vibrant economy (in Estevan) there have been lots of folks who have the opportunity to earn more money."
Even with very high earning potential for many in Estevan, the accommodations across the city are becoming increasingly unaffordable, with the average rental price in the city more than $100 above the next closest average in the province.
Baird said it wouldn't make sense for the Housing Authority to be acquiring more units, as the best solution for Estevan would be for more residences to be developed. That's what the City of Estevan is working toward now.
"The issue in Estevan is that there's a need for more to be developed. Acquisition of existing rental doesn't really help the situation," said Baird.
She noted the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC) has also provided some funding to the City to undertake a needs and demands study as well as to develop a housing plan for the city.
The SHC has been working with the City of Estevan to try to get additional housing units constructed in the city. Baird said those units, however, aren't meant for social housing.
"Right now we have been working with them on two initiatives, and there has been a commitment made to the City of Estevan to fund up to 385 units under the rental construction initiative," said Baird.
That initiative is an incentive program meant to encourage the private sector to develop more housing in Estevan. The incentive provides $5,000 from the province to match municipal grants or incentives to an owner for each eligible new rental unit constructed. Those units would not fall under the social housing program, but would be available on the open market.
City manager Jim Puffalt said the city is providing a tax incentive of $5,000 per unit and some developers have come forward expressing interest.
"There is quite a bit of interest with developers coming into the city, so we want to make sure that we have the funding available for them," said Puffalt. "The developers we are talking to have land that they have either bought from the city or they have bought privately."
Essex Developments and West D Developments are the two companies working on the apartment projects, and Puffalt said they are ready to begin construction this year.
"Everything we're looking at is typical, rental apartment construction. It's a nice incentive but it's not going to make or break the project."
When construction is completed, the developers will receive a $5,000 grant from the province for each unit and the city will match that with a $5,000 certificate toward an abatement of taxes.
