The District Municipality of Muskoka is moving forward with a plan to build new transitional housing in Huntsville to help residents experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
During a recent joint meeting of the Muskoka Health Services Committee and the Community and Planning Services Committee, members voted in favour of moving ahead with the Huntsville Hanes Road Transitional Housing Project.
The project begins with five transitional units to be built on District-owned land at the northeast corner of Hanes Road and Ott Drive—the current site of a Muskoka Paramedic Services station and a water reservoir and pumping station. The development could expand to as many as 12 units if additional funding is secured.
The total cost to develop the first five units is estimated at around $1 million, or $200,000 per unit (excluding land). The District expects up to 75 per cent of that cost to come from the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI) and Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI) programs, with the remaining 25 per cent funded by the District through the 2026 Big Move on Housing budget or other sources.
Construction is required to start within 120 days of signing the provincial contribution agreement, and staff say they intend to move quickly—faster than the province’s maximum timelines.
The project is part of the District’s Affordable and Attainable Housing Investment Framework, adopted in 2024 and updated earlier this year. Under “Theme 1 – The Deepest Need,” Muskoka has committed to directly leading the creation of 184 deeply affordable units, including up to 45 supportive and transitional units.
“These units offer a vital bridge between homelessness and permanent housing,” District staff said in their report. “They provide residents with a stable place to live while they access supports that help them succeed in permanent housing.”
The new Huntsville units will build on lessons learned from the District’s ongoing supportive transitional housing project at 575 First Street South in Gravenhurst. The Huntsville units are expected to be slightly larger than those in Gravenhurst to better accommodate couples and families with children.
The Hanes Road site was selected for its convenient location, within walking distance of a grocery store, transit stop, and just over a kilometre from a larger shopping plaza.
While the project has been approved in principle, it remains subject to funding approvals, planning processes, and final design work. If the project secures all necessary approvals, construction could begin as soon as early 2026.
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