Steps are being taken to offer more housing options in Timmins.
After opening the city’s first Sikh gurdwara, Kanwaljit Bains and her husband are taking steps to provide more affordable housing.
“It has to be done,” said Bains. “We have a developer and builder.”
The proposed project will include townhomes and walk-up apartment buildings and will be located on 80 acres off of Highway 101 East in South Porcupine, just east of the Tisdale transfer station.
“For the timeframe, we’re thinking about starting next spring or fall,” she said. “Occupancy won’t be before 2026 unless a miracle happens.”
They’re looking to include about 100 townhomes and five-storey apartment buildings. The current plan will be for between 100 and 500 apartments.
While they are still waiting on reports regarding land use, Bains said they plan to start clearing the area in spring 2024.
“We’ll have a surveyor coming in,” she said. “We’re still waiting for some of the reports from the ministries, but housing is my major project.”
The inspiration for this housing project came from the international students Bains has met through her work with the Timmins gurdwara and the support the temple has offered the Indian community in town.
There are two students currently living at the gurdwara.
Bains said her focus is currently on renovating the gurdwara’s kitchen so that the temple can provide food for those in need.
The kitchen project received $102,500 from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) and $15,000 from Northern College. The rest of the budget for the kitchen comes from community donations.
“The concrete floor’s all done, half the tiles are done, all the metal beams are done, and most of the framing is done,” she said. “At the end of January, we’d like to have it wrapped up.”
“I wish I had six arms, or maybe eight,” she said.
The complete proposal for the housing project is expected in the spring of 2024.
