LETHBRIDGE -- The provincial government has announced an $11 million investment towards permanent supportive housing in Lethbridge.

The investment is a partnership between the province and the federal government, through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which will go towards building a 42-unit facility to support those struggling with or at risk of homelessness.

A location for the housing complex hasn’t been finalized yet, as Minister of Seniors and Housing Josephine Pon explained that her team is currently looking over where the best place for it in the city would be.

"We have to go through the process to be able to choose the best location for the facility, because it’s important for our government and also the City of Lethbridge," Pon explained.

In terms of a time frame for when a decision on the location is chosen, Pon says that could happen fairly soon, while construction on the facility is likely to start sometime in 2021.

Back in December of 2018, the then-NDP government made a similar announcement about a supportive housing complex, as well as other supports.

But when the United Conservative Party were elected in the spring, previously approved projects were put under a review.

Lethbridge-West MLA Shannon Phillips said in a statement that the UCP has needlessly delayed this supportive housing project, leaving those suffering from addiction and homelessness in limbo and in search of help. Lethbridge-East MLA Nathan Neudorf told reporters on Thursday that his government wanted to fully review the project because every administration has to have a new look at things.

"Nobody wants to commit for someone else’s work, a responsible government will do the work themselves just to make sure that they have reviewed every part of it," Neudorf continued. "To make sure they’re signing off on something they’re comfortable with. This is no slight on any work done previously, but this is our due diligence to do that correctly."

The ministry of seniors and housing will support the development of the facility, while community and social services will be responsible for the on-site social supports.

Mayor Chris Spearman and Lethbridge city council have been advocating for additional supports to deal with the drug crisis for years, in particular, housing, and says this is an important first step in the battle.

“We expect this will accommodate around 40 people, and we understand that the caseload is about 145. We want to build on that relationship with the provincial government to make sure all vulnerable people in the City of Lethbridge receive the help that they need,” Spearman said.

Spearman added the plan is to work collaboratively with the province with it comes to choosing the location.

“When a facility is well run, it really doesn’t create disturbances to the local neighbourhood. That’s going to be a challenge because not everyone is going to accept that message,” he continued. “We certainly are going to find areas where we think the facility will be successful and it won’t be destructive to the neighbourhood.”

The project is expected to create around 80 local jobs in several different fields.