Grenville breaks ground on new community housing for seniors

Shovels were hoisted and earth was tossed on Monday, September 27, when Grenville Mayor Ronald Tittlit and the president of Habitations communautaires de Grenville, Walter Berniquez, met with Argenteuil MNA David Whissell and about 40 members of the community to break ground on a new community housing unit that will cater to low or moderate income people over the age of 50.

"Once finished, this project will offer 25 affordable housing units to residents of Grenville, allowing them to continue to live in their community and near their families, right on the Rue Principale," said Senator Suzanne Fortin-Duplessis, who was also present for the announcement.

La Vivienda de Grenville is an affordable housing development that will feature 25 units in a two-storey complex, half of which will be reserved for residents requiring financial support to pay their rent.

"There was a real need for a project like this in the west of Argenteuil," said Whissell. "The reality is that there are people here, in Grenville and in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, with a lower financial ability, and this will help address that."

The construction represents an investment of nearly $2.9 million, half of which the Quebec and federal governments have committed to pay. The Municipality of Grenville has allocated $282,500 to be invested into the project while various partners contributed a total of $330,000, including a $50,000 grant from the Argenteuil Centre for Local Development.

Habitations communautaire de Grenville, which will manage the building, will also take on the repayment of the remaining $1.1 million loan, to be paid back through rent on the units.

Berniquez, the agency's president, said it was important to have the housing unit built right in Grenville because many seniors have difficulty finding housing locally, and instead move across the border to Ontario.

He also thanked Mayor Tittlit for working together with him on the project, saying it would not have been possible without the municipal council, a sentiment echoed and returned by the mayor.

"It shows that the municipal council works well together," continued Tittlit, noting all six councillors were present at the ground-breaking ceremony. "As mayor, I am proud that soon our community will be able to offer quality apartments and affordable housing to less affluent citizens."

Mazen Houdeib, the director general of the Regroupment des organismes du Montréal ethnique pour le logement (ROMEL) - which contributed to the project - said he was pleased to work with people "that knew their community, its people and their needs."

Located at 236 Principale Street, in Grenville, La résidence la Vivienda is expected to be open and welcoming new residents as early as March 2011.