The City of Waterloo’s Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Grant of $2.25 million has been awarded to Thresholds Home and Supports Inc. to assist with their purchase of three existing apartment buildings to improve housing stability and affordability for current and future tenants.

The grant comes from the City’s portion of the Housing Accelerator Fund; a fund established by the federal government to provide financial support to local governments to address housing affordability and supply challenges.

The Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Grant (MURA) was created to assist not-for-profit housing providers, co-operatives and/or land trusts to acquire existing rental units and retain them as long term, affordable and attainable rental housing.

The recipient of the MURA funding has purchased three existing buildings on Herbert Street, Waterloo with 17 rental apartments of which 14 are affordable. The affordability will be secured for 25 years. There is potential within this project to add more affordable rental units and/or modify some units for accessibility.

The MURA program is one of nine housing actions that will increase the supply of housing (including affordable housing) and support long lasting systemic changes.