COLD LAKE – City of Cold Lake council has voted to extend the Multiunit Rental Housing Incentive Program, giving developers until March 26, 2026, to apply for financial grants aimed at building multi-unit rental properties.
The Multiunit Rental Housing Incentive Program provides cash grants for projects with at least four rental units. Approved projects must remain as rentals for at least five years, with grants issued only after council approval and occupancy clearance.
The extension aims to encourage developers to continue expanding Cold Lake’s rental housing stock, according to the City of Cold Lake.
The program, originally adopted on March 26, 2024, was delayed during its transfer from the Planning and Development Department to Economic Development.
During the Aug. 12 regular council meeting, Andrew Serba, Manager of Economic Development, Communications, and Strategy, noted that no official applications have been submitted yet. “While there have been several inquiries into the program, there have been no official applications made as of yet,” said Serba.
He added that similar programs have taken time to gain traction.
“Administration will note that the last time a similar policy was adopted, it did take a significant amount of time before the incentive was successfully used.”
The similar program had proven successful in the past.
“That previous version of the incentive received 10 successful applications during 2013 and 2014, which resulted in 318 rental units created in the city of Cold Lake,” said Serba.
Council made a motion to approve the extension of the program until March 26, 2026.
