Members of Edmonton city council are recommending selling a plot of land to NiGiNan Housing Ventures for $1.
The nearly 0.3 hectares of land along 106 Street in the Spruce Avenue neighbourhood would be the site of a development called Ambrose Place II and would provide supportive housing for vulnerable people in the city.
Councillors Aaron Paquette, Tim Cartmell, Karen Principe and Keren Tang and Mayor Amarjeet Sohi voted 5-0 in favour of the motion presented to Executive Committee on Aug. 13.
This would allow NiGiNan Housing Ventures to develop the five-storey building to accommodate at least 60 housing units. The building would also include a ceremonial room, where programs like medicine picking and beading workshops could take place.
A report from city administration also recommends providing around $5.2 million in funding for the project, as a part of its Affordable Housing Investment Program grant. The report estimated that the total cost of the project could reach $30.7 million. The non-profit organization currently operates four other supportive housing sites for vulnerable parts of the city’s population across the city.
Last September, Homeward Trust calculated that the homeless population in Edmonton hit 4,697. Nearly half of those who were surveyed identified as Indigenous. The land sale is tentatively slated to be completed by October, so that construction can start in the spring of 2026.
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