The sixth intake of the Housing Initiatives Fund (HIF) is supporting 11 shovel-ready projects throughout Yukon, the Yukon government said Monday.

That means approximately 159 new affordable homes will be constructed across the territory.

Shovel-ready projects in Whitehorse will be led by Habitat for Humanity, the Council of Yukon First Nations and the Grey Mountain Housing Society.

Shovel-ready projects in Yukon communities will be headed by the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun, the Teslin Tlingit Council, the Selkirk Development Corp., and the Champagne and Aishihik and Vuntut Gwitchin First Nations. Three will be led by individual proponents.

Two project concepts are also being funded to eventually contribute to the creation of more homes.

Project concepts will be led by the Klondike Institute for Arts and Culture in Dawson City and Son of Mendel Inc. in Dawson.

HIF-funded projects support affordable housing in the long run.

Since 2018, HIF has provided over $28 million for 56 construction projects.

Twenty-four are complete, and 32 are either in progress or about to start.

In total, the fund is supporting the construction of 799 new homes in the Yukon, of which 645 meet affordability standards.

The next intake for the HIF is planned for November.

“Our government is guided by the recognition that every Yukoner should have a place to call home,” said Premier Ranj Pillai, who doubles as the minister responsible for the Yukon Housing Corp. (YHC).

“Through programs such as the Housing Initiative Fund, we are demonstrating our government’s commitment to increasing the availability of safe, affordable housing across the territory.”

The sixth call for Housing Initiatives Fund projects ran from Nov. 14, 2022 to Feb. 3, 2023. The YHC received 24 applications.

The Housing Initiatives Fund requires that units are energy-efficient, that 20 per cent of the units in multi-unit buildings are accessible and that units remain affordable for 20 years.

Some of the larger projects that previously received funding under this program and are now complete.

Those include the newly opened 87-unit Boreal Commons rental facility, the 53-unit mixed-income Cornerstone Building and the 84-unit Normandy Living.

HIF funding can be used together with other YHC programs such as the Municipal Matching Rental Construction Program, the Developer Build Loan Program and federal, First Nation and Municipal funding initiatives.