The executive director of Sarnia's Inn of the Good Shepherd thinks a chunk of vacant land they own in the south end could be ideal for new affordable housing.
Lambton County staff are negotiating with the Inn to acquire the former Lambton Shrine Club site on Confederation St. near Indian Rd.
Inn Executive Director Myles Vanni says when they demolished the old Shrine Club building, they decided to give the county right of first refusal.
"Knowing that the federal government was putting in some funding for affordable housing, we thought it would be a great opportunity to have land available in town that could be used for affordable housing," says Vanni.
He says they originally planned to use the property.
"When we got the property to build the shelter, the original plan was to build the shelter in the old Shrine building and then there was the parking lot beside it. But, we found out it was actually cheaper to build brand new than renovate the old building. So, we built on the parking lot and we just recently tore down the old Shrine property," says Vanni.
The Good Shepherds Lodge opened in 2010 and can house 25 people a night.