Welcome to the 82 Wilson EngageWR page! Thank you for your interest in this new affordable housing project in Kitchener. This project will help reduce the wait list of people who need housing in this neighbourhood and it will provide an opportunity to expand services for existing and new tenants.
In 2019, Regional Council approved the Waterloo Region Housing (WRH) Master Plan (see Council Report). An outcome of the Master Plan was the creation of a WRH revitalization strategy for existing WRH properties. The strategy involved evaluating all 65 WRH sites to determine which sites have the most potential for redevelopment based on site assessments.
The sites recommended for redevelopment have relatively high community housing waiting lists, which would be reduced with revitalization. Also, there are several existing services available at these sites that can be expanded as part of the revitalization through community-based needs. The combination of selected sites ensures that affordable units are developed on the central transit corridor and meet the needs of each of the three cities within the region (Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge).
82 Wilson was one of the recommended properties for revitalization. The site is located next to two WRH properties (84 Wilson and 210 Fourth) and is close to transit and many community amenities. Construction of the new 82 Wilson building began in the fall of 2023. It was completed winter 2026.
The newly constructed building contains 48 one-bedroom units. These units will serve seniors in the community (see photos of the development progress above), and includes 11 accessible units. The building has been designed as a mixed-income building offering a mix of three different rent levels for seniors as follows:
- Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI)
- Below Market Rent (BMR)
- Median Market Rent (MMR)
In addition to the new housing units, this new building includes a ground floor space for a community partner to serve the surrounding community. The community partner is the Alzheimer Society: Waterloo-Wellington, who will be providing programming for seniors in the neighbourhood experiencing dementia.
This project will make a huge difference in the lives of many people waiting for an affordable home.
We thank you for engaging with us through the progress of this exciting new development!
