Duke-of-Waterloo
06-03-2010, 06:47 PM
New apartments coming to old Golden Hammer building
By Scott Cressman | NEW HAMBURG INDEPENDENT | Friday, May 28, 2010
New Hamburg - People with low or fixed incomes could soon find a new home in a New Hamburg landmark. The former Golden Hammer Inn is being re-modeled to become community housing space for seniors.
The project should be finished and ready for tenants to move in by November, said Shain Arnott, a realtor who co-owns the building with Wendell and Jennifer Shumm.
“The idea was put in our heads that the community needs this, and that's why we're running with this,” he said.
The project will add to the Region of Waterloo's community housing program, which provides affordable housing to people with low or mid-level income afford housing. The program aims to help these families or individuals spend less than 30 per cent of their income on housing.
There will be 16 units, which Arnott called “adult lifetyle affordable apartments.” They will be brand-new, unfurnished one-bedroom or bachelor apartments with their own gas furnace and air conditioning. Rent will be $495 to $540 per month, which also covers utility bills, he said.
“They're going to be well-designed units,” said Jennifer Murdoch, manager of housing programs at the region. “We're making these very inviting units, with the location and the rent, and integrating them into the communities.”
The provincial and federal government is paying for roughly three-quarters of the construction costs, Murdoch said. Then, the landlord signs an agreement with the Region of Waterloo to keep rent in an affordable range for 20 years.
Waterloo Region currently has a waiting list of almost 3,500 people waiting for community housing, she said, and is trying to add more housing. The region's goal is to add 500 more units by 2013
The area already has between 9,000 and 10,000 affordable housing units. Some are owned by the region, some by non-profit groups, and others by private owners like Arnott and the Shumms.
Seniors often need help from community housing because of their fixed income, Murdoch said.
“Our interest is getting the units built at an affordable level and making sure the low-to-middle income people have the opportunity to move into them,” she said. Demand is highest for one room apartments , she added.
There's no cost to the municipality for this project, Murdoch said. Funds for the project are coming from the provincial government's Delivering Opportunities for Ontario Renters program, and the federal government's Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The apartments will be on the second and third floors. The building's ground-floor renovation was finished two years ago, and now houses many small businesses.
Work began at the end of March, and the project is roughly 25 per cent finished, Arnott said.
As part of New Hamburg's heritage core, the building is rich with history.
Built in 1866 by Fred Merner, the Commercial Hotel was run by a series of hoteliers up until 1972 when foreclosure forced the eventual sale of the hotel to Herbert and Jean Hammer in 1974. They opened that year as the Golden Hammer Inn.
Josef and Irene Wurm purchased the building in 1978 and ran a successful restaurant and pub there until Joe's death in 2005.
http://www.newhamburgindependent.ca/news/article/211475
By Scott Cressman | NEW HAMBURG INDEPENDENT | Friday, May 28, 2010
New Hamburg - People with low or fixed incomes could soon find a new home in a New Hamburg landmark. The former Golden Hammer Inn is being re-modeled to become community housing space for seniors.
The project should be finished and ready for tenants to move in by November, said Shain Arnott, a realtor who co-owns the building with Wendell and Jennifer Shumm.
“The idea was put in our heads that the community needs this, and that's why we're running with this,” he said.
The project will add to the Region of Waterloo's community housing program, which provides affordable housing to people with low or mid-level income afford housing. The program aims to help these families or individuals spend less than 30 per cent of their income on housing.
There will be 16 units, which Arnott called “adult lifetyle affordable apartments.” They will be brand-new, unfurnished one-bedroom or bachelor apartments with their own gas furnace and air conditioning. Rent will be $495 to $540 per month, which also covers utility bills, he said.
“They're going to be well-designed units,” said Jennifer Murdoch, manager of housing programs at the region. “We're making these very inviting units, with the location and the rent, and integrating them into the communities.”
The provincial and federal government is paying for roughly three-quarters of the construction costs, Murdoch said. Then, the landlord signs an agreement with the Region of Waterloo to keep rent in an affordable range for 20 years.
Waterloo Region currently has a waiting list of almost 3,500 people waiting for community housing, she said, and is trying to add more housing. The region's goal is to add 500 more units by 2013
The area already has between 9,000 and 10,000 affordable housing units. Some are owned by the region, some by non-profit groups, and others by private owners like Arnott and the Shumms.
Seniors often need help from community housing because of their fixed income, Murdoch said.
“Our interest is getting the units built at an affordable level and making sure the low-to-middle income people have the opportunity to move into them,” she said. Demand is highest for one room apartments , she added.
There's no cost to the municipality for this project, Murdoch said. Funds for the project are coming from the provincial government's Delivering Opportunities for Ontario Renters program, and the federal government's Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The apartments will be on the second and third floors. The building's ground-floor renovation was finished two years ago, and now houses many small businesses.
Work began at the end of March, and the project is roughly 25 per cent finished, Arnott said.
As part of New Hamburg's heritage core, the building is rich with history.
Built in 1866 by Fred Merner, the Commercial Hotel was run by a series of hoteliers up until 1972 when foreclosure forced the eventual sale of the hotel to Herbert and Jean Hammer in 1974. They opened that year as the Golden Hammer Inn.
Josef and Irene Wurm purchased the building in 1978 and ran a successful restaurant and pub there until Joe's death in 2005.
http://www.newhamburgindependent.ca/news/article/211475