A group of community volunteers has launched a new non-profit corporation dedicated to creating affordable housing in the Ottawa Valley. Already, it has at least five projects in various stages of development and planning since its launch in June and is looking for donated properties and more opportunities for development. Above: Golden Lake writer Ish Theilheimer and Deputy Mayor of Pembroke, Brian Abdallah, are Chair and Vice-Chair of OVAH. (Photo submitted)
“There is a housing crisis in Renfrew County, Pembroke, and surrounding areas just as in most parts of Canada,” says Ish Theilheimer, who founded the organization and chairs its Board. “There just isn’t enough housing for younger and lower-paid workers and their families and for area seniors. The result is that employers cannot find workers and many people and families are in desperate need.”
Three years of discussion and work by a loose coalition called the Affordable Housing Alliance of the Ottawa Valley (AHAOV) has led to the creation of Ottawa Valley Affordable Housing Inc. (OVAH), with a mandate to create affordable housing in local communities both in partnership with local partners – municipalities, non-profits, developers, builders and concerned citizens – and on its own, as appropriate.
OVAH will work, in early years, with management, development, and administrative backup from Anhart Community Housing. Anhart is a non-profit based in Vancouver with a long history of developing affordable housing in Canadian and international communities.
In partnership with OVAH, Anhart is currently working with proposals for affordable housing in Barry’s Bay, Golden Lake, Eganville, Pembroke and Cobden.
Impact financing for projects
A key to Anhart’s approach is called impact financing. The gist of this is raising 20 percent of project costs privately at the outset through low-interest loans from ethically-motivated high-net-worth Canadian investors. Anhart has found that with a sound business plan and impact financing, their projects can raise the remainder of development costs from credit unions, banks, government and other sources. Anhart has had considerable, positive experience helping to raise impact financing for the projects it helps communities launch.
OVAH Board members and mandate
OVAH has assembled a strong Board of Directors with a variety of experiences, expertises and executive ability, people who know our community well and who have, among them, housing, municipal, construction, financial, administrative, political, management and legal experience.
OVAH’s work will follow on research and contacts done over the past three years by the AHAOV, which identified a number of potential housing projects as well as opportunities such as municipally- or County-owned property. OVAH will attempt to turn some of these opportunities into realities. As often as possible, it will be attempting to form partnerships with municipalities or existing non-profits that would ultimately become the project owners. Where appropriate, OVAH will develop projects on its own and, with them, the necessary organizational infrastructure to manage them.
OVAH’s mandate is “to create affordable housing on its own as well as to work with municipalities and other non-profit partners to create or expand affordable housing in Renfrew County, Pembroke and possibly neighbouring jurisdictions.”
Its Board of Directors includes Brian Abdallah (Deputy Mayor of Pembroke), Cameron Montgomery (staff, North Algona Wilberforce), Patrick Renshaw (construction industry manager and consultant), Maria Robinson (Councillor, North Algona Wilberforce), Leigh Sweeney (Executive Director, Bernadette McCann House), writer Ish Theilheimer, and business consultant Ankit Vyas.
“We want to create housing in your community,” says Ish Theilheimer, who founded the organization and chairs its Board. “If you have an idea, a group that wants to create housing, a piece of land, a building that could be put to use, please get in touch with us.”
OVAH can be contacted by email at ovaffordablehousing@gmail.com or by phone at 613-757-2223.
Theilheimer,I.,OVAH(2025,Oct.27) Ottawa Valley Affordable Housing Inc. creates partnerships in our communities [media release]