By Ryan Pike
Good news for students and citizens alike, as the City of Calgary has kicked off a series of open houses aiming to spread information on their secondary suites grant program.
Applicants can receive up to $25,000 through the program, designed to reimburse homeowners who create or upgrade secondary suites. A bylaw change made secondary suites legal in June 2008.
The city began the grant program in April as a pilot project to help with the costs of creating or upgrading suites. City spokesperson Gail Soklan told CTV that the city hopes that creation of secondary suites will ease the housing crunch. According to the Calgary Herald, only 15 legal suites have been given permits since last June and less than a dozen grants have been awarded since that program began.
Open houses are taking place Thu., Oct. 1 from 6:30 to 8:30 at Village Square Library and Sat., Oct. 3 from 9:30 to noon at Acadia Community Association.