Mr. Speaker, today I want to highlight a good-news story about community-led affordable housing, something that has been going so well for so long that we hardly pay any attention. It's Northern United Place in Yellowknife which was established in 1976. It provides 125 low-cost housing units for independent people earning less than $60,000 a year, and rent is geared to a tenant's income. The building includes another 41 student housing units that are leased by Aurora College. All of this is run by a non-profit called the NWT Community Services Corporation. They've been able to operate these non-market affordable housing units for 50 years without relying on the government for operating funding. Imagine that. So how have they managed it?
Back in 1976, the Community Services Corporation arranged to have five lots amalgamated. They bought two lots from the United Church and acquired the other three lots from the GNWT for a small sum. The non-profit has leased out the commercial parts of the building to pay for the operation and maintenance of the residential units. Various agencies have been anchor tenants on the commercial side. First, GNWT departments used it as office space and since 1997, Aurora College has been the anchor tenant. Most recently, the non-profit has secured $17 million in federal loans in order to upgrade the building envelope and improve energy efficiency to help extend the life of the building for another 40 years, and these renovations will begin in the summer of 2026.
Tenants of NUP report that they feel safe and secure. The building experiences very little damage, and there are few evictions. And this is in the heart of our downtown. Tenants come from across NWT communities and the world. Everyone from college students to seniors become good neighbours and help each other out.
The risk is that we take this affordable housing for granted. I mean, it's easy to forget about them because they're not in crisis, and they don't ask the GNWT for subsidies. But this model could collapse if they lose their anchor tenant. Aurora College is considering moving out of NUP when their current lease ends in 2032.
Mr. Speaker, we need to appreciate the success of this non-profit affordable housing model. In order to protect those 166 tenants, we need to ensure they continue to have a stable anchor tenant. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.