The construction of a 102-unit pavilion for the Avens seniors community is getting a funding boost from the federal government.

On Wednesday, federal Housing Minister Ahmed Hussen announced the federal government would invest $5 million towards the construction of the new housing units at the AVENS campus in downtown Yellowknife.

SA国际影视传媒淲e all share the goal of ensuring that everyone in the Northwest Territories has a safe and affordable place to call home,SA国际影视传媒� said Hussen.

The federal government previously invested $33.7 million in the project in October 2020.

SA国际影视传媒淭he additional $5 million weSA国际影视传媒檙e announcing today comes at a crucial time, as the project currently faces challenges and increased costs resulting from the pandemic,SA国际影视传媒� said Hussen.

AVENS president and CEO Daryl Dolynny, who was also present at the announcement, expressed gratitude for the additional funding.

SA国际影视传媒淥n behalf of our AVENS volunteer board, our employees and our seniors community, we are blessed and thankful for the support and perseverance of the CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) team and our GNWT partner, as we proudly continue NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 largest affordable housing development,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Once the new pavilion is up and running, SA国际影视传媒淎VENS will support seniors across the entire continuum of care so that seniors can move seamlessly through all levels of care without having to leave the Avens community,SA国际影视传媒� said Dolynny.

The history of the project goes back to 2014, when work began on what was supposed to be a 90-bed long-term care centre on an underdeveloped part of the AVENS campus. This project was never fulfilled, but in July 2019 the CMHC provided seed funding that allowed Avens to begin what Dolynny called SA国际影视传媒渙ur pavilion journey.SA国际影视传媒�

The development was granted a permit in June 2021.

In highlighting the importance of the project, Dolynny referenced a needs study from November 2019 that found that seniors in the NWT have a harder time accessing affordable and adequate housing compared to the rest of Canada.

SA国际影视传媒淲ith a renewed project purpose, we soon realized that the AVENS pavilion project would not solve all the capacity issues related to our growing seniors population,SA国际影视传媒� said Dolynny SA国际影视传媒淗owever, all we wanted was to provide some relief to our seniors looking for a place to call home.SA国际影视传媒�

Dolynny said the pavilion should open sometime in the fall of 2023.

The funding announcement came on the heels of another announcement of new funding two days prior, in which Hussen pledged $9 million to the Borealis Housing Co-Operative to retrofit 50 Yellowknife homes.