Amherst gets $2.2M in federal funding to streamline home construction

The mayor of Amherst, N.S., says federal funding that will enable the town to cut red tape and fast-track construction of much-needed housing will bolster the community's continued development.

The town will receive $2.2 million through the federal government's Housing Accelerator Fund to speed up construction of 67 homes over the next three years and help spur construction of 300 housing units over the next decade.

"Housing is one of those key fundamentals you need to grow your local economy and grow our town," Mayor Rob Small said in an interview.

 "It will probably be the largest growth that we will have had in many years in Amherst."

The federal accelerator fund is a $4.4-billion initiative intended to get housing built quickly and help address the country's housing crisis. Bridgewater, N.S., and Mahone Bay, N.S., also received a total of more than $3.5 million in funding announced this week. 

Small said business owners in Amherst are having trouble filling jobs because the lack of housing stock and affordable housing means would-be employees have nowhere to live. The shortage is also affecting the health-care and education sectors and other industries in the area, the mayor said.

"You've got to have the housing available in order to bring the people in," he said. "[This funding] will make a big difference in terms of what's going on in Amherst for a number of years."

The federal program requires municipalities to develop an action plan that outlines housing supply growth targets and specific initiatives to increase housing supply and speed up approvals.