Guelph, Ont., November 5, 2026 – Construction will soon begin on 18 new affordable rental units on Fife Road in Guelph, a project supported with $475,000 from the City of Guelph.
UpBuilding! Non-Profit Homes, Inc. is building two new three-story stacked townhouses at 50-60 Fife Road, which are scheduled to open in 2027. One goal of the project is to support residents with accessibility needs, which will be done through six accessible units that will be built on the ground floor.
“As I approach the end of my term as Mayor, I’m proud to see projects like this moving ahead. They are examples of what can happen when governments and housing providers work together toward the common goal of housing affordability,” said City of Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie. “Federal support through the Housing Accelerator Fund helped the City create new tools and grants to encourage affordable housing, and this project is one example of those grants in action. By combining City programs, community leadership and support from other levels of government, we’re helping turn good ideas into affordable homes for people in Guelph.”
The City of Guelph is contributing a total of $475,000 to the project through two grant programs. UpBuilding! Non-Profit Homes received $25,000 in 2025 through the City’s Affordable Housing Seed Funding program to support early project costs. Another $450,000 was provided through the New Affordable Residential Unit grant, one of the grants available through the Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan. The grants are funded through the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.
“The UpBuilding mission is to provide high-quality affordable housing for people of all needs and backgrounds,” said Howard Kennedy, President of UpBuilding! Non-Profit Homes. “These new affordable rental homes will help advance that mission, while also opening up more spaces for people in Guelph to call home.”
Creating more opportunities for affordable housing
Guelph City Council adopted a 10-year Housing Affordability Strategy in December 2024, with the goal of nearly one in three new homes being affordable at the provincially defined affordability benchmark. The New Affordable Residential Unit grant is part of the Strategy and helps fund projects like the 18 new affordable units at 50-60 Fife Road. Alongside other City initiatives, the grant is part of a broader effort in Guelph to expand housing affordability.
Over the past few years, the City has introduced grant programs, worked with not-for-profit housing providers, leveraged City-owned land to support affordable housing developments, and launched policies, programs and initiatives to help create and preserve affordable housing options in Guelph.
Working with others
This project was also made possible thanks to significant funding from the federal and provincial governments, as well as the County of Wellington.
To learn more about the work happening on housing at the City, you can visit guelph.ca/housing or sign up for the City’s quarterly Housing eNewsletter.
Quick facts
- In 2025, the City of Guelph awarded $100,000 in seed funding to four not-for-profits to help plan for at least 43 affordable units, including the 18 in UpBuilding’s Fife Road development.
- The New Affordable Residential Unit grant, funded through the federal Housing Accelerator Fund, will close to new applications at the end of 2026.
- In the first year of the City’s 10-year Housing Affordability Strategy, 29 of the 30 actions were deemed on track or complete.
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