Harbour City Homes says it can't afford to maintain Halifax properties

A non-profit organization selling nine buildings that have served as affordable housing in Halifax's north end says it could no longer afford to maintain the properties. 

Jim Boudreau, treasurer of the board of directors, says Harbour City Homes struggled for years to keep up with the work required on the aging buildings, which are located on Brunswick and Artz streets. 

"The revenues we achieved because of providing affordable housing left us unable to do most of the necessary capital repairs," he said. 

Nine buildings are now for sale.

The city will have the right of first refusal to buy back at least one of the buildings on Brunswick Street that was acquired in 2007. Harbour City Homes acquired other buildings in the early 1980s for a few thousand dollars each, on the condition they be used as affordable housing. 

Harbour City Homes officially acquired the three properties on Artz Street last December for $1. 

The city says it does not have the option to buy back those properties, which have been used by the organization as affordable housing for years.

Millions of dollars of maintenance work

Boudreau says the board decided to "sacrifice" the 34 units in the properties on the market now in order to benefit the organization's remaining 180 units. He says the organization will use money from the sales to improve its other buildings.

Bob Thomson, general manager of Harbour City Homes, says the organization's multi-unit buildings that are not for sale have accumulated millions of dollars worth of maintenance work. 

He expects only 20 units will be affected by the sale, since several are vacant. 

Tenants say they are worried they will not be able to afford rent when their homes are sold.

"If they are forced to move because of higher rent, we will work very closely with them," said Thomson. 

But people living in the Brunswick Street units say the organization has yet to communicate that to them.

'It's really disheartening'

The area's councillor, Jennifer Watts, says the sales will be a loss for the community.

"We should've really funded affordable housing in a way that supported these organizations, these non-profit organizations over the years, to do appropriate re-capitalization and to do the monitoring to make sure that's being done," she said.

"It's a huge contribution to our community to have this, and we have to make sure we take care of it."

Deb Key, who has lived in her Brunswick Street unit for seven years, says there should be more accountability. 

"When we need repair work done or when we want things done, that comes out of our pocket," she said.

"It's really disheartening that the people we've come to know and love won't be our neighbours anymore."