Heather Wright/The Independent

Four years after construction started, the first resident of Maxwell Park Place are moving in.
County of Lambton officials marked the opening of the modular 24-apartment addition to the Sarnia housing facility Monday.

The project – which was billed as a fast way to provide affordable housing – has been plagued with problems. BECC Construction had issues with slow supply chains after the pandemic, the weather, buried water lines not on the original plan and a new foundation which didn’t fit the modules.

The county fired the contractor and joined a civil suit against BECC which later declared bankruptcy. Lambton was able to recoup $2.7 million from a security bond posted by the company.

The problems came with a big price tag.

The cost of the building has gone from $6.1 million in 2021 when federal and provincial governments announced $3 million in funding for the project to an estimated $14.5 million today, according to Melissa Johnson, manager of housing services for the county.

Monday, she says, there was excitement and “relief” as the county cut the ribbon to the complex and prepared to welcome 18 residents from other county housing units and six people who will receive services from the March of Dimes. They’re expected to move in over the next three weeks.

Johnson says the vacancies at the other buildings will be filled in March and April.

As that happens, work continues on a new $16.5 million, 50-unit building on Kathleen Ave. It’s on budget and on time, says Johnson. She expects the first residents will move in there this fall.

Johnson says after a difficult time at Maxwell Park Place, the Kathleen Ave development “gives hope” that more affordable housing units can be built soon. The county’s coming projects include an apartment complex on the grounds of the former St. Bartholomew Church in Sarnia.