New Hamburg’s former feed mill to become affordable housing project

The group LYNC plans to restore the historic, century-old structure and build 29 housing units

NEW HAMBURG An affordable housing project set for the former feed mill in downtown New Hamburg could also include the adjacent land of the former Waterloo Regional Police detachment.

Grassroots group Love Your Neighbour Communities (LYNC) bought the former B-W Feed and Supply Mill at Peel and Mill streets last October.

The group plans to restore the historic, century-old structure and build 29 housing units. The former police detachment site is set to be included in the project. The land would be used for parking and serve as a public gathering space at street level, said LYNC’s executive director Boris Emanuel.

Regional councillors were expected to approve continued support for the LYNC housing project at a meeting of regional council Wednesday night by offering the former police site to the group.

The former police detachment at 33 Peel St. is adjacent to the project site. Police ended full-time operations at the downtown New Hamburg site in 2016.

Police had an office there from 1973 to 2019.

The region is giving the group 18 months as it finalizes its plans for the project before handing over the site, said Jeff Schumacher, housing and development supervisor with the region.

The regional site was considered surplus and available for affordable housing, Schumacher said.

The grassroots group — LYNC — was created two years ago during the pandemic when like-minded people envisioned creating a sense of community with an affordable housing project.

The group fundraised and collected enough in private donations to buy the mill property, Emanuel said. The mill cost $2.3 million.

“The community is pretty strong behind this project,” he said.

The non-profit, faith-based organization’s mission is to build equitable housing combined with social enterprise, that decreases social isolation, and sprouts a community that cares about food security and environmental responsibility.

The goal is also to create affordable and attainable housing. The project will be home to a variety of families with different incomes. The aim is to have homes for people on fixed incomes, homes with rent geared to income and homes at market rent. The group hopes to start construction by September.