Edmonton's WIN House breaks ground on 64-unit housing project for women leaving violence

WIN House broke ground Thursday on the Miller Project, a five-storey building of 64 family apartments at 14921 50 Street NW, next to Miller Park and a playground. The units will house women and children for about two years after they leave emergency shelter, and they will not be ready until spring 2029.

The $34 million project is funded by WIN House's own $7 million campaign and by the City of Edmonton's Housing Accelerator Fund, the federal Build Canada Homes program and the province. The site is a former school plot near single-family homes. The city acquired the land in 2009 and is selling surplus school sites to developers and organisations at a discount; across 11 parcels, it estimates 1,300 new units, 950 of them affordable.

The apartments will have two- and three-bedroom options at geared-to-income rents, with case management, counselling, wellness services, justice navigation and immigration support on site. Community spaces and a parking space are planned.

Ashley Baxter, WIN House's Chief Programs & Operations Officer, said the project will let the organisation keep supporting families after they leave emergency shelter. "The housing crisis is real right now," Baxter told reporters. WIN House says its emergency shelter stays have risen about 40 per cent, and one family spent around eight months in shelter unable to find safe, affordable housing.

The city and the provincial and federal governments have not yet responded to requests for comment on the project or the discounted land sale. The groundbreaking falls during Family Violence Prevention Month.