Eabametoong First Nation is preparing for Phase 1 of a project to add about 300 homes to the Treaty 9 community.

Crews are clearing roadways and spaces on the east side of the community in preparation for construction of housing on 48 lots in the East End Expansion’s first phase, slated to begin later this spring.

Phase 1 is to be followed by 58 lots and 16 rural lots in the second phase, and more than 160 lots in the project’s third and fourth phases.

A new school will also be constructed in the area, Chief Solomon Atlookan said this week.

Eabametoong First Nation lost its old school, the John C. Yesno Education Centre, to arson in January 2024. A temporary school for 300-plus children in kindergarten through Grade 10 opened in November of that year with a goal of having a permanent replacement in five to seven years.