These 56 federal properties are now 'available' to become housing

The federal government is giving an updated glimpse into which of its properties could be converted into housing by developers as it tries to boost supply and lower the cost of living.

The next step in the Public Lands for Homes Plan laid out in the spring is a list of properties, currently numbering 56 across the country, that the government said have the potential to support housing and are «available» to be developed.

Five of these properties are open for proposals as of earlier this week when this first batch of listings was released. The others are for interested groups to ask about.

The list will «grow regularly,» according to a news release Thursday about two such properties in Ottawa.

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Ontario has more than half of the listed properties with a total of 32.

Ottawa is the top community with 22 properties, or about 40 per cent of the total. Some were previously listed as surplus.

Kingston has two on King Street W. near Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard.

Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jenna Sudds, who's also an Ottawa MP, announced Thursday that a listing with two neighboring addresses is open for proposals are in Wateridge Village near the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

The plan there is to build approximately 495 units, with a minimum of 30 per cent or about 150 units dedicated to affordable housing.

«Our government owns the largest real estate portfolio in the country and by unlocking some of these lands for housing we can get more homes built faster and at prices that Canadians can afford,» Sudds said.

Sudds said the goal is to keep the lands public, instead allowing for developments through low-cost leasing wherever possible.

Ottaw