First residents of Habitat Manitoba’s largest development receive keys to new homes
Fifteen families in Transcona received keys to their brand-new homes Wednesday, becoming the first residents to move into a new Habitat for Humanity Manitoba development.
Their new digs are in the Pandora Avenue West development, billed as the largest and most ambitious project Habitat for Humanity Manitoba has ever embarked on.
“It’s exciting to be celebrating the first homes. It will be even more exciting when all 55 have moved in in the next couple of years,” said Jamie Hall, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Manitoba.
They will have more neighbours in due time.
Another 40 families will move in by 2026 when the project is completed.
Fifty-five homes in total will be built at the development, housing about 275 people, including 175 children.
Prospective homeowners who wouldn’t qualify for a conventional mortgage purchased the affordable homes through Habitat for Humanity Manitoba with no down payment required.
The organization also provided a mortgage that removed the barriers to homeownership.
Habitat for Humanity Manitoba staff, volunteers, and residents of its new development gather for a key ceremony on Pandora Avenue West on Sept. 18, 2024. (Joseph Bernacki/CTV News Winnipeg)
Development will have 'significant impact' on housing affordability: minister
As part of the partnership, families contributed about 500 volunteer hours to help build their homes or other Habitat homes, or helped at Habitat’s retail store.
Rosemary, one of the owners of the new builds, said she and her children are excited to move in after many months of work.
“I’m extremely grateful. It has been a lot of work and it has been lots of commitment and dedication, and I’m excited,” she said.
Rosemary, a homeowner at Habitat for Humanity Manitoba's new Pandora Avenue West development, is pictured during a Sept. 18, 2024 interview. (Joseph Bernacki/CTV News Winnipeg)
Bernadette Smith, Manitoba’s minister for housing, addictions, and homelessness said the Pandora Avenue West development will have a significant impact on housing affordability in Transcona.
She congratulated the new homeowners at a ceremony Wednesday, as they were presented with keys to their new homes.
“I grew up in social housing. I raised my own kids for a little bit of time in social housing, so I know the struggle that it took to get to where you are.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Airlines' challenge of Canada's passenger protection rules rejected by Supreme Court
Canada's airlines have failed in their challenge of air passenger protection rules that the federal government implemented in 2019.
Tax rebate: Canadians with low to modest incomes to receive payment on Friday
Canadians who are eligible for a GST/HST tax credit can expect their final payment of the year on Friday.
A 6-year-old girl was kidnapped in Arkansas in 1995. Almost 30 years later, a suspect was identified
Nearly 30 years after a six-year-old girl disappeared in Western Arkansas, authorities have identified a suspect in her abduction through DNA evidence.
WestJet ordered to reimburse B.C. passenger for hotel, despite claim bill was 'excessive'
WestJet failed to convince a B.C. tribunal that a woman whose flight was delayed for three days spent an "excessive" amount on a hotel room, and the airline has been ordered to pay her full bill.
RCMP recovered 115 out of 205 lost firearms, 2 machine guns still missing
More than half of the 205 firearms lost by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police since 2020 have been recovered, but two machine guns remain missing.
Economic experts call it 'terrible policy,' but most Canadians support expansion of Old Age Security benefits: Nanos survey
Amid new polling indicating most Canadians support boosting Old Age Security benefits by 10 per cent for seniors aged 65 to 74, a former Liberal finance minister and former Bank of Canada governor are warning the government not to pursue the policy change.
When a massive asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, ants began farming fungi
Exactly 150 years ago, scientists first discovered that leaf-cutter ants were cultivating gardens of fungi inside their nests, feeding the fungi bits of leaves and in turn eating the tips of the fungal webs.
Pit bulls in B.C. pet mauling tested positive for meth, cocaine, says city
Three pit bulls involved in a deadly attack on another dog last month in Kamloops, B.C., tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine, and the city is going to court to have them put down.
Scientists looked at images from space to see how fast Antarctica is turning green. Here's what they found
Parts of icy Antarctica are turning green with plant life at an alarming rate as the region is gripped by extreme heat events, according to new research, sparking concerns about the changing landscape on this vast continent.