interest in that. It’s twofold. In some instances, it’s for parents, and in other instances, it gives property owners an opportunity to get some rental income to make that house more affordable,” explains Rodey. Infrastructure forms the backbone of this growth.The $50 million wastewater treatment plant expansion, bolstered by a $34 million provincial grant, will be transformative.“That’s a huge amount,”Agar admits. “It’s unheard of.” “The province recognizes that as a municipality we have a great deal of land that’s designated and zoned for industrial use, but we didn’t have the sewage capacity in order to have it developed. The province has seen that as a potential long-term investment that we hope will reap us benefits, but also the province benefits, because we virtually have thousands of acres of industrial land that we will be able to develop at some point once we get the sewage treatment plant up and running,” Rodey adds. and that would be a good location for it,” Rodey says. Agar highlights the affordability crisis: “A starter home when we were young was 50,000. Now a starter home is like half a million.” With rental prices soaring to 2,000/month in nearby Sarnia, the township is exploring creative solutions, including accessory dwellings. “The province here has allowed a sort of second dwellings in existing units and perhaps an accessory structure such as a garage, and we are having some St. Clair Energy Centre Accelerating cleaner, more reliable, affordable energy. Powered by decades of experience, we have a proven track record of delivering cleaner energy to customers and communities around the world. To learn more, visit www.invenergy.com. 134 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 05
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