PEISummerside officials hope the East-West Housing Corridor, now nearly complete and set to open this fall, will steer the city in the right direction on housing. ‘From a housing perspective, there’s a demand and it continues to be there,’ says CAODelaney Kelly · CBC · Posted: Sep 12, 2025 8:05 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoSummerside’s East-West Housing Corridor is expected to open in the next few weeks. The city hopes the new roadway will allow more housing to be built in the city, as well as open up more traffic flow. (City of Summerside/Facebook)Summerside officials hope a major roadway that’s nearly complete and is set to open this fall will steer the city in the right direction on housing. The East-West Housing Corridor runs from MacEwan Road to Water Street, and creates direct access to about 345 acres of land.The city’s chief administrative officer said that creates the potential for about 1,200 to 2,000 new housing units in P.E.I.’s second-biggest community. “From a housing perspective, there’s a demand and it continues to be there,” said J.P. Desrosiers. “As a municipality we’ve done a lot in terms of housing, our mayor and council have been aggressive in that area, and this project is certainly one of those projects that was a high priority for a number of years. “It’s taken the need for development and housing and growth to make it come to fruition,” he said. “It will be a significant impact to open up new housing stock in our community, for sure.”WATCH | East-West Housing Corridor set to open in Summerside this fallNew major Summerside roadway to open this fallSummerside’s East-West Housing Corridor will open in the next couple of weeks. The CBC’s Nicola MacLeod spoke with the city about the impact officials hope it will have on the city’s housing stock.’A housing mix is important’Desrosiers said the city is hoping for new builds that come in at a variety of price points, and is encouraging different types of development, like townhouses and apartments. But, he said, there will be no density requirements for the projects. “A housing mix is important, as [having] many different homes built along the housing spectrum is important, but again, it needs to be driven by need and I think developers will find that need and build accordingly,” he said. The city also wants to keep development within the city limits as a way to protect agricultural land on the outskirts of Summerside. The City of Summerside is putting the finishing touches on the East-West Housing Corridor. Residents can vote online from a list of pre-approved names, including Loyalist, Shipwright and Strathcona, or submit their own suggestion. (Nicola MacLeod/ CBC News )Residents can help put a name on the mapWhile the road is set to open in the next couple of weeks, it is still without a name. Residents can vote online from a list of pre-approved names — including selections such as Loyalist, Victory, Callbeck, Shipwright and Strathcona — or submit their own suggestion for a name.The city plans to open the road once paving is finished and traffic lights are up and running.”We’re as eager as everyone else is for sure,” Desrosiers said. ABOUT THE AUTHORDelaney Kelly is a journalist with CBC P.E.I. who studied journalism at Concordia University. She was previously a reporter at Iori:wase in Kahnawake Mohawk Territory. With file from Nicola MacLeod
City hopes major road set to open soon in Summerside will pave way for more housing
