A co-operative that hopes to build a 63-unit non-profit housing development on Fairfield Road is hosting an information session next Monday evening at the Sackville United Church.
The session is co-hosted by the Freshwinds Eco-Village Housing Co-operative and Sackville’s existing housing co-op, the Marshwinds Housing Co-operative, which is home to 20 households just off Main Street in downtown Sackville. Members of the Marshwinds Co-op pay some of Sackville’s lowest housing fees. Marshwinds has been around since 1990, and recently paid off its first mortgage.
LISTEN FROM THE ARCHIVES–The Marshwinds Co-op on Tantramar Report in the summer of 2022:
Organizers says the session on June 9 will “show how co-operatives can provide a sustainable solution to the housing crisis, and will provide an update on the development of Freshwinds’ property on Fairfield Road, currently planned to break ground in 2026.”
The Freshwinds project was briefly mentioned by Tantramar council last week at their monthly committee of the whole meeting.
The previous month, Tantramar council passed a motion declining a request from Freshwinds to apply for funding from the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF) to help cover the cost of municipal sewer and water work that would be needed for the project to proceed. At the time, Freshwinds co-chair Sabine Dietz said she was surprised and disappointed by the sudden council decision.
Last week, after the mayor’s report, Councillor Bruce Phinney mentioned that he had spoken with another Freshwinds member, Margaret Tuzs-King, who told him she felt there had been a “misunderstanding on behalf of Council”, Phinney told council.
Mayor Andrew Black confirmed that there had been a misunderstanding regarding Freshwinds, and that staff and members of the co-op had met to discuss the issue on April 23, a couple of weeks after the council vote declining Freshwinds support through CHIF. The meeting included the mayor, CAO Jennifer Borne, treasurer Michael Beal, and director of Community and Corporate Services Jeffrey Taylor.
“So there was at that time some misunderstanding of what the ask was from Freshwinds, and what council ultimately made a decision on,” said Black.
After the meeting, Black says the municipality “wrote the updated letter of support from the municipality which we passed through council, so now they have an updated letter of support for any of their funding opportunities.”
The Freshwinds information session is happening Monday June 9, at 7pm at the Sackville United Church. Organizers says they will discuss the proposed layout of the property, and give an outline of affordability and accessiblity. There will also be information on how co-op housing works in general, including the rights and responsibilities of members.
