At the regular June council meeting in the Village of Blacks Harbour, Mayor John Craig announced that the village has a new housing project underway.

"Yesterday, developer Greg Hooper officially took over the 260 building and will commence turning that into a 10 to 12 unit apartment building," said Mayor Craig to his council and staff.

This comes at a time when many local politicians, municipal staff and entrepreneurs in Southwest New Brunswick are proactively trying to deal with the housing crisis. Local Charlotte County developer Greg Hooper, who is based in St. George, already has three housing project underway in St. Stephen, one of which can be categorized as an "affordable living" option, but this marks his first foray into Blacks Harbour housing. 

Eastern Charlotte Waterways, a nonprofit organization that is based in Blacks Harbour, has been at the helms of some exciting local initiatives meant to address the housing crisis and affordable living in general. ECW is in the midst of pioneering the community program Project: Village. The project aims to revitalize rural southwest New Brunswick by bringing sustainable initiatives like affordable housing, indoor farming and electric car-sharing to the region. The non-profit group's latest project is transforming the old Freshmart in Blacks Harbour into a vibrant community space to be utilized by all community members.

Plans for the outdoor gathering space are already underway and will include free wi-fi, picnic tables, accessible washrooms, electric vehicle charging stations and a mural representing the rich and tenacious history of the community by renowned local artist Geoff Slater.