1 of 27

Housing Affordability & Availability: Innovative PublicPrivate Partnerships in Action

2 of 27

County of Huron

Gibbons Street Development

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

3 of 27

Gibbons Street Affordable Housing Development

Identify Need
Homelessness Taskforce
Dispersed Model of Affordable and Supportive Housing
Council Review and Approval
Be Part of the Solution Campaign
Community Alignment and Partnerships
Outcomes: Gibbons Stages

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

Good afternoon,

Thank you for inviting me here today to speak about our Gibbons Street Housing Development. This project has been a long time in the making, and we are very excited that it is now nearing completion. We anticipate being ready for occupancy before the end of the year.

Today, I’d like to share the journey that brought us to this point — including how vital community alignment and private sector partnerships helped make it a reality.

I’ll begin with how we first identified the need, then walk through the early planning stages and the development of a dispersed model for affordable housing. I’ll also highlight how we kept the community informed and engaged through our Be Part of the Solution campaign, and finally, how creative public and private partnerships allowed us to achieve our goals.

4 of 27

Identifying the Need

Spring 2020 | Volunteer-led Out of the Cold shelter announced closure as demand and case acuity increased, and COVID-19 heightened health and safety risks

Fall 2020 | County of Huron and Volunteers co-ran the emergency shelter program

Fall 2021 | County of Huron became the primary provider of emergency shelter

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

In Spring of 2020, the emergency shelter known as Out of the Cold operated in its final year from the basement of a local church.

It provided emergency overnight shelter in the winter months in a congregate setting.

By early 2020, demand was increasing, and the cases being seen were more complex than volunteers felt equipped to manage. The volunteer providers notified the County they would be stepping back, creating a gap in service.

In March 2020, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic added further health and safety risks for both unhoused individuals and service providers.

A plan was made to transition operation from the church/volunteers to the County of Huron

In 2020, the church continued to offer its facilities, and the County of Huron assumed management of the program, ensuring emergency shelter remained available in the community.

By 2021, the County was the community’s primary emergency shelter provider.

5 of 27

Homelessness Taskforce

In 2020, a Homelessness Taskforce was launched to:

Respond to the growing need for homelessness support
Ensure the health and safety of unhoused individuals throughout the pandemic

(This Taskforce has since evolved into today’s Affordable Housing and Homelessness Committee)

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

6 of 27

Homelessness Taskforce / Affordable Housing & Homelessness Committee

Committee Composition:

CAO
County of Huron staff
Members of Council
Local law enforcement
Healthcare representatives��
Public Health
Huron County Library
Partner Service providers (e.g. CMHA, Women’s Shelter, United Way)

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

7 of 27

Continual Improvement Approach

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

8 of 27

Dispersed Model of Affordable & Supportive Housing

A Dispersed Model of Affordable & Supportive Housing places smaller numbers of affordable and supported units in multiple buildings across a community, rather than concentrating them in one large development.

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

9 of 27

Dispersed Model of Affordable & Supportive Housing

Stronger Social Integration
Healthier, safer communities
Flexibility and fit
Shared responsibility

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

This approach prioritizes an individual’s unique needs and leads to greater success for both the individual and the community as a whole.

By focusing on multiple smaller developments and rethinking the way we utilize our current housing inventory, we have been able to provide our community with multiple mixed-use housing options.��How it Benefits Communities

Stronger Social Integration: By spreading units throughout multiple neighbourhoods, residents are part of the wider community rather than separated into a single site. This reduces stigma and builds everyday connections.

Healthier, Safer Communities: When individuals have stable housing and supports, there’s less reliance on emergency services, policing, and crisis interventions. That reduces strain on community resources.

Flexibility and Fit: Each development can be tailored to local needs — for example, family units in one town, seniors’ housing in another — rather than a one-size-fits-all model.

Shared Responsibility: Housing is distributed across municipalities, encouraging shared ownership and collaboration, rather than placing all the responsibility on one community.

10 of 27

Council Approval

Bennett St. Goderich

6 Units

Sanders St. Exeter

20 Units

Gibbons St. Goderich

40 Units

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

11 of 27

Be Part of the Solution Campaign

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

We knew from the start that success for these developments, and our other homelessness prevention programs, would depend on community support.

That’s why we launched Be Part of the Solution — a campaign designed to steer the conversation toward solutions rather than problems, and to provide a clear call to action.

At its core, this campaign is about shifting the narrative: from blame to solutions, from crisis to action, and from stigma to shared responsibility. It’s about showing that housing is a fundamental right, and that every one of us has a role in making it a reality.

With Be Part of the Solution, we didn’t shy away from the hard conversations. The Cringe Test is a good example — we named discriminatory statements head-on, and showed clearly why they don’t stand up.

We kept the community fully informed of our progress with our builds and programs – complete transparency was non-negotiable.

At the same time, we positioned ourselves as the “housing experts” in the room. We framed the County as a good neighbour, demonstrating the benefits of County-owned housing and showing how these developments actually strengthen communities rather than weaken them.

And most importantly, we launched a Be Part of the Solution Funding Campaign specifically for the Gibbons project.

12 of 27

Outcome | Gibbons Stage 1

Shovel-Ready Proposal

40-unit apartment building
Mixed-use housing
Purpose-built to meet Huron’s rural housing needs
Designed for long-term community use

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

13 of 27

Outcome | Gibbons Stage 2

Approval and Construction Begins

Land secured through Town of Goderich donation
Rezoning and architectural design completed
Budgeting and Council approval achieved
Contract awarded to Bronnenco Construction ($13.1M)
Construction begins

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

14 of 27

Outcome | Gibbons Stage 3

Nearing Completion

Construction continues toward completion
Funding campaign underway and partners joining
Project moving toward occupancy
Represents the largest supportive housing build in Huron County to date

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

15 of 27

Community Building and Partnerships

Community Alignment

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

16 of 27

Community Building and Partnerships

Local municipalities including Goderich and Exeter
County of Huron
Provincial and Federal Governments
Local housing and homelessness service providers
Local service groups and not-for-profits
Private sector
Neighbours and individual community members

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

17 of 27

Thank you!

County of Huron

www.HuronCounty.ca/housing-and-homelessness

Gibbons Development

18 of 27

Housing Affordability & Availability: �Innovative Public-Private Partnerships in Action

John Peevers

Senior Advisor, Corporate Affairs

October 2025

PUBLIC

19 of 27

A bit about�Bruce Power

Canada’s only private-sector nuclear

generator, producing 30% of Ontario’s

clean, reliable electricity.

An important source of sterilization and

cancer-fighting medical isotopes used

globally.

Investing in extending the life of our fleet. Canada’s largest private sector infrastructure project

Increasing the output of existing units to contribute to a prosperous, clean energy future

20 of 27

Potential new nuclear – Bruce C

Ontario's energy demand could increase by 75% by 2050.

17,800 MW

Additional nuclear capacity needed in Ontario by 2050

Evaluating impact of adding up to 4,800 MW of nuclear capacity on existing site.
Studying environmental, economic, social and health impacts, including potential impacts on Indigenous peoples and proposed measures to mitigate adverse impacts.
Technology-neutral approach advanced in a proactive, open, and transparent manner to engage Indigenous Nations, local municipalities and the public

21 of 27

Top issues for our region

PAGE 21

PUBLIC

22 of 27

Our community support: 2024

$1 million for a Huron County 40-unit affordable housing project in Goderich
$150k to affordable additional residential unit program in Bruce County
$20k to Brockton for its housing needs assessment program
$38k to Saugeen Shores for its modular home project toolkit.
$150k to Habitat for Humanity Grey-Bruce for eight residential units in Owen Sound

PAGE 22

PUBLIC

23 of 27

2025 Sponsorship requests

$2,792,862 increase in funding requests for 2025.

PAGE 23

PUBLIC

24 of 27

Our process and themes

Process

Each year, proposals are accepted online between June 1 and Sept. 30 for consideration for the next calendar year
Recommendations by Community Relations staff to senior leadership team

Themes

Affordable housing fund requests
Increase in overall volume of applications and dollar values
Increase in food, family & youth services (addiction/recovery, mental health)
Increase in trades/STEM, job training, literacy & after school programs

PAGE 24

PUBLIC

25 of 27

�Intangibles

26 of 27

Community Resiliency - a teaser…

Our communities are complex, evolving and facing rapidly emerging issues —including those related to mental health, substance use, housing instability and homelessness, intimate partner violence and human trafficking.
Addressing these realities requires tailored funding and community-based service models that respond to the unique needs of this region
Building a community rooted in resilience cannot be accomplished if done in silos
Community Resiliency Strategy Project, led by Bruce Power Nexus Research Centre, hosted at Nuclear Innovation Institute, will guide energy sector on ways to amplify existing strategies, initiatives and advocacy efforts to address identified challenges.
The project will also provide insights for policymakers and local community organizations already working to address community-level challenges
…more to come

PAGE 26

PUBLIC

27 of 27

27