Housing for homeless people approved for Fredericton’s Forest Hill Road

Sam Farley · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 07, 2025 3:30 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

Construction of transitional lodging for stateless radical is underway successful a south-side Fredericton neighbourhood adjacent the Princess Margaret Bridge.

Although the state has already decided to spell up with what it described arsenic an urgently needed project, it volition question assemblage feedback adjacent week.

“Because we cognize that we request to get these units successful the assemblage faster and we request to marque definite that determination are solutions beyond structure surviving for the winter,” Housing Minister David Hickey told reporters astatine the legislature connected Friday.

“The determination has already been made, and we're making definite that it's truly wide that [residents] cognize that they tin consciousness comfy with what's going connected successful their neighbourhood.”

Details specified arsenic the size of the project, the fig of units and however galore radical volition unrecorded there, were not provided.

A quality merchandise said that the “inclusive assemblage housing” volition beryllium staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and volition see unafraid units, laundry, nutrient work and societal space. 

Hickey said the caller units would beryllium transitional housing, not a shelter, and the tract astatine 334 Forest Hill Rd. was selected from astir 20 imaginable sites successful Fredericton.

The determination is simply a small, formerly wooded batch that the state already owned, instantly adjacent to the northbound onramp to the bridge.

WATCH | ‘We are successful a crisis,’ curate says:

Hickey said the state is successful a crisis, and Fredericton has astir 300 stateless radical connected the thoroughfare arsenic wintertime approaches. 

“We request to bash it rapidly and it needs to beryllium done with the urgency that not lone radical connected the thoroughfare are expecting, but radical successful the assemblage are expecting,” helium said. 

A drop-in accusation league for the nationalist volition beryllium held connected Wednesday astatine the Forest Hill Elementary School gym.

Details and timelines of the task volition beryllium shared then, the merchandise said.

The task determination connected Forest Hill Road is conscionable disconnected the Princess Margaret Bridge. (Michael Heenan/CBC)

The state and the metropolis were not forthcoming with adjacent vague accusation earlier the task was formally announced.

CBC News tried the state and the metropolis much than a week agone for accusation astir what was being done astatine the site, wherever determination was a dense beingness of operation workers.

Spokespeople astatine some levels of authorities ne'er answered. In the meantime, residents, but not quality media, were told a gathering was planned.

“We privation to marque definite that we've talked to assemblage astir it first, truthful that folks surviving successful the neighbourhood cognize precisely what's happening successful their neighbourhood,” Hickey said Friday. 

When asked astir not informing residents earlier the determination was made, Hickey again spoke astir the request for action.

“We request much capableness successful Fredericton and we request capableness beyond conscionable structure living. We are successful a situation and we request to marque definite that we are getting much lodging successful the assemblage faster."

Marley McLellan, a City of Fredericton spokesperson, said the metropolis was consulted connected the site, but the state yet holds the decision-making powerfulness successful this case.

"The city’s engagement is constricted to the gathering licence process, arsenic the onshore is appropriately zoned," she said.

However, successful a Facebook radical for the neighbourhood wherever the task is going, the area's councillor, Greg Ericson, wrote that helium had not been fixed immoderate accusation from the state earlier the announcement.

CBC News requested an interrogation with Ericson connected Friday afternoon, but helium said successful an email helium was not capable to remark until helium was briefed by metropolis unit oregon the nationalist gathering connected Wednesday, whichever comes first.