It's the first of its kind for east Elgin and on Friday, shovels were officially placed in the ground for an affordable housing project for seniors and persons with disabilities.

The $1.7-million price tag is shared by federal, provincial and municipal governments, with the project encompassing 23 affordable housing units at 69 Brown St. in Aylmer.

Construction started last month and is expected to be completed by April 1, 2011.
"It's the first affordable housing project east of St. Thomas," advised Sandra Datars-Bere, director of St. Thomas-Elgin Ontario Works, which administers affordable housing county-wide.

She noted West Lorne, Dutton and St. Thomas already have affordable housing units.
"It's really exciting. There's a huge need in this community."
Peter Ostojic, from Walter Ostojic and Sons Construction, is constructing the units and noted they've already had 27 requests -- and they haven't even advertised they're available.

That speaks to a high need for affordable housing in the area, he noted.
"You can really tell with all the involvement that the people in this community have, they really wanted this project," Ostojic said.
Steve Peters, Liberal MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London said, "Today is a great day to celebrate the fact that we have 23 affordable housing units that are being constructed, 23 units that are going to help support seniors, to support persons with disabilities."

Meanwhile, Joe Preston, local Conservative MP, credited joint work between all levels of government to make the project happen.
"It is about the province and the federal government working together for what's right in the community . . . It's never hard to pick a project when it's the right thing to do," he added.

"It is just incredible now that we're making one here because we often think of affordable housing being needed somewhere else. It's needed everywhere."
Datars-Bere noted there's a Phase 2 for the project, about to get underway, on a lot adjacent to the Brown street site that allows for another 23-units for affordable housing.

That project is pending government funding.