Ontario Construction News staff writer
A City of Kitchener-backed affordable homeownership project has cleared its final approvals and is expected to break ground later this year, marking another step toward the municipality’s housing targets.
The Build Now Holborn Court development, at River Road East and Ottawa Street North, will deliver more than 60 affordable homes through a partnership between the city and Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region.
The project follows the city’s April 2024 decision to donate a parcel of land at the site valued at about $5.5 million. The land was dedicated to the homeownership development as part of BUILD NOW: Waterloo Region, an initiative that aims to create 10,000 affordable and attainable homes across the region by 2030.
“Moving forward with a project like Build Now Holborn Court is the kind of innovative, collaborative project that becomes possible when all three orders of government and community partners work together,” Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said in a statement. “This project is putting city-owned lands to work to deliver real, made-in-Kitchener solutions to empower residents to achieve their dream of homeownership in our community.”
Kitchener has received a combined $46.6 million through the federal Housing Accelerator Fund in 2023 and 2025. City officials say the funding has helped advance projects such as Build Now Holborn Court.
“Our government is proud to support community-driven projects with the Housing Accelerator Fund,” Kitchener-Conestoga MP Tim Louis said in a statement. “By putting public land to use and partnering with organizations like Habitat for Humanity, this project will deliver real, attainable homeownership opportunities for families while helping to build our communities in Kitchener-Conestoga and the Waterloo Region.”
The development will include a mix of studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom homes to serve a range of household sizes.
Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region said the homes will be sold to income-qualified households and will include measures to ensure they remain affordable over the long term, even if ownership changes. The City of Kitchener has also committed to waiving certain development-related fees to help keep purchase prices affordable.
“Solving the housing crisis requires all of us to work together,” Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region CEO Philip Mills said in a statement. “This project shows what’s possible when governments and community partners share a common goal. We’re proud to see the BUILD NOW project moving from vision into construction, bringing us one step closer to welcoming families home.”
For more information visit Housing For All strategy.
