A new supportive housing complex will be built in Whitehorse for people living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), the federal and territorial governments announced Wednesday.

The Options for Independence project is being funded to the tune of $1.05 million by the federal government through its Affordable housing initiative, which has been extended to run to 2014.

The Yukon Housing Corp. is providing $2 million in construction and mortgage financing.

"As you know, housing is an important building block for improving the quality of life for people with FASD,” Yukon MP Ryan Leef said at Wednesday afternoon's funding announcement.

"Once residents have a foundation of safe, affordable housing, options for independence can then address their important and complex needs by providing supportive services and connecting people to local community resources.”

The new complex will be built on Fourth Avenue, across from the High Country Inn. A duplex currently on the site will be expanded to a 14-unit building.

There will be nine bachelor units, seven one-bedroom suites and five two-bedroom suites. The complex will be able to house up to 26 people.

"We're very pleased to support Options for Independence in assisting people with FASD to live in their own apartments in this way,” Premier Darrell Pasloski said at Wednesday's announcement.

"We're investing in long-term supportive housing for those people who need it most. This investment will help meet the need of affordable housing for some of the most vulnerable and often homeless members of society,” the premier said.

While previously the government had raised concerns about Options for Independence, Scott Kent, the minister responsible for the Yukon Housing Corp., said all the government's concerns had been addressed.

"Any concerns the government had or (the Department of) Health and Social Services or the housing corporation had with Option for Independence were addressed, and we're ready to move forward,” he said.

The organization has formed a new board of directors, he noted.

Kent would not elaborate on the government's original concerns with the organization.

In a press release issued Wednesday, James Smith, the vice-president of the Options for Independence Society's board of directors, said, "This building is an important step toward providing safe and supportive housing for the most vulnerable people in our community.”

Mike McCann, from the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Society of Yukon, said in an interview today the project has been talked about for some time, and he's happy to see it's moving forward.

"Some persons with FASD, some of them have been some of the hardest to house, and many do require supportive housing, so it is a good news story, I think.

"Supportive housing has been one of the areas where there's been a huge gap over the last number of years, so anything that can be done to increase that has to be seen as a positive move,” Smith said.

"Hopefully, conversations will continue with the NGO community and some of the other longer-term needs for other people who are having difficulty finding housing can be addressed over time.”

Kate White, the NDP critic for the housing corporation, said today the federal support of this project is positive. However, much more is needed from the Yukon government to ease the housing crisis currently afflicting the territory, White said.

"One-off project announcements aren't going to solve the housing crisis,” said the New Democrat.

"What I'd really like to see is vision on their part,” she said. "They haven't come up with a housing strategy that has a clear plan and has targets and timelines, and I think that's what we really need.”