Indigenous Housing Grant Stream

Who can apply

Applicants of the Indigenous Housing stream must meet the following requirements:

1. Applicants must be able to own the project lands, given that the City requires a grant funding

affordable housing agreement with the fee simple owners of the project lands, including caveat registration on title, and

1. Applicants must be an Indigenous organization, in which Indigenous persons have at least 51%

ownership and control of the organization. Where land ownership involves an Indigenous organization and non-Indigenous organization, the Indigenous organization must own at least 51% of the project lands. In such cases, Applicants will include both the Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations.

For clarity, in all cases, Applicants must include all the proposed fee simple owners of the land, in alignment with the foregoing requirements.

Applicants must certify to the City, by way of statutory declaration and/or other documentation satisfactory to the City in its sole discretion, that the foregoing eligibility requirements have been met.

Applicants eligible for this stream must demonstrate:

1. Commitment and competence to complete the proposed development
2. Expertise and proven ability to undertake the proposed development

● Financial soundness, including:

1. Financial and operational ability to complete and maintain the development
2. Capacity to handle development risks (i.e. cost overruns, delays)
3. Managerial competence and capabilities

To be considered for the Rehabilitation sub-stream, individual developments must result in enhancements to the building/complex that:

1. Reduce associated operating costs,
2. Extend the useful life of the building; and
3. Improve the physical condition and/or functionality of the building.

MANDATORY MINIMUM PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

All proposed developments must meet the following mandatory minimum requirements to be eligible for application:

PROJECT READINESS

The Planned Development sub-stream is for proposed developments that are shovel-ready where construction commencement has not occurred at the time of grant application, but will be ready to commence construction within two years of entering into a grant agreement with the City.

The Reimbursement sub-stream is for proposed developments where construction commencement has already occurred but an occupancy permit (or equivalent, as the case may be) has not yet been issued at the time of grant application.

In all cases, the Applicant must ensure that any residential units proposed for affordable housing use are available for occupancy for said use as of the date of the issuance of the occupancy permit (or equivalent).

Location and Size

1. The proposed development must be located within the boundaries of the City of Edmonton.
2. The proposed development must include a minimum of five housing units.
3. The location must be currently zoned to permit the proposed development

Affordability

1. Must remain affordable for a minimum of 25 years from the date of the issuance of the last occupancy

permit (or equivalent). Proposed developments with a longer affordability term will be ranked higher at the evaluation stage, to a maximum agreement term of 40 years.

1. The minimum requirements relating to provision of affordable units to classes of occupants is

identified in Appendix I, for both rental and homeownership developments.

1. Additional eligibility or payment criteria for occupants may be proposed for consideration by, or

imposed by, the City of Edmonton.

Financial Viability

1. Confirmation of fee simple ownership of the development lands by the Applicant (purchase contract

or land title certificate) or confirmation of a long-term lease (must be at least the duration of the requested affordability term) with the City of Edmonton (as confirmed by an active lease agreement)

1. 10% of the total development cost must be provided by the Applicant as equity, except in special cases

as determined by the City of Edmonton.

1. Approved funding from other sources and market value of owned property can be used

towards total equity contribution

1. Applicants must provide evidence of the financial viability of the proposed development.
2. If the Applicant does not have three years of financial history, as evidenced by Audited Financial

Statements or on the discretion of the City, the City may require a third party guarantor to provide financial backing through a guarantee agreement with the City.

Energy Efficiency

1. New developments comprising apartments and/or large buildings must achieve at least a 5% energy

improvement over Tier 2 of the 2020 National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB)

1. New developments comprising single-detached housing, semi-detached housing, and/or row

housing using Section 9.36 of the National Building Code (Alberta Edition) must achieve energy performance equivalent to a minimum 5% energy improvement over Tier 2 of the 2020 NECB

1. Must also abide by requirements related to City Policy C627 (Climate Resilience), if and when

applicable. These requirements apply to new construction projects that are greater than 600 metres in gross floor area, anticipated to be greater than $3 million in total capital project costs, and where the requested funding from the City will be at least 33% of the total capital construction costs of the project (excluding land costs). Where so applicable, the projects must have the future installation of renewable energy systems considered in the design process.

1. Rehabilitation developments must be designed to achieve a minimum 25% decrease in energy

consumption and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions relative to pre-rehabilitation ("base case") performance Accessibility

1. Applicants must meet minimum building code accessibility requirements
2. Developments that meet higher accessibility standards, including, but not limited to, universal

design, visitable units, units designed for persons in wheelchairs, and barrier-free bathrooms, will be scored higher during the evaluation process

1. Specifically, additional scoring is provided where applications provide dwelling units that are

fully constructed per National Building Code 2023 Alberta Edition: Division B: Articles 3.8.4.2., 3.8.4.3. and 3.8.4.4 and dwelling units that have more than two bedrooms