Three of Vancouver’s seven multi-family housing projects have “stuck” awaiting state or federal funding after five years.

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In the spring of 2018, the City of Vancouver made a big announcement that it plans to build more than 1,000 low-rent apartments on seven city-owned properties by 2021.

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For almost five years, there have been three mayors, but only two have been completed. Co-op supporters say one is under construction and another is about to begin construction, but three sites remain empty and the project is running out of state and federal grants. It’s stalled because

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This delay shows some of the challenges of building affordable housing in an expensive market like Vancouver, even though non-profit developers were given land for free.

“There is a difference between being able to build a home and building a home at a level that is affordable to the intended people,” said Thom Armstrong, CEO of the Common Housing Federation of BC. I’m here.

The project will be developed by Community Land Trust, a CHFBC subsidiary operating as a non-profit housing developer.

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All seven sites “could have been built by now, but they couldn’t have been made really affordable,” Armstrong said.

For example, the 177 West Pender Street site proposal targets 76 homes for women who have left abusive relationships. Ideally, the rent is $375 a month for a single and $750 for a family.

But that would require subsidies from the state and/or federal government, without which the unit would have to be rented out for a minimum of $1,800, and more for multiple bedrooms.

“Women who leave a violent relationship usually have an income left behind and have to tell someone that this is all the rent is,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong added that it “means a significant level of subsidies” from higher governments to enable them to bring rents down to levels they can afford.

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Even with free land, rents have to be market priced based on design and construction costs that have risen significantly over the past decade, and interest rates that have risen this year.

Armstrong made the decision to apply for funding from senior government in 2018, although it had the option of building without it by imposing a market rate of interest, which would result in higher costs and interest rates. He said that was not an option and that the remaining three projects were “stuck”. ” Funding.

He said CHFBC should apply for funding for cooperative proposals that compete with other affordable housing models, and the state received 13,000 applications during the final call for proposals, funding 2,400 more. said he did.

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The cooperative was announced by former Mayor Gregor Robertson in May 2018. At the time, the City of Vancouver was to provide homes for low-to-moderate income Vancouverites with annual incomes between his $30,000 and $80,000.

Pender’s project is for 102 units on the 3200 block of Vanness, half big enough for a family, and another in the Kensington Cedar Cottage area at 1001 Kingsway with 66 units, one for 112 units. for the unit. Davie Street and Seymour Street are all waiting for funding.

The completed sawmill has 337 co-op homes, 220 of which were developed by an indigenous nonprofit called the Makola Housing Association in the River District area of ​​southeast Vancouver. Another 154 homes on Davie and Burrard streets are awaiting final funding approval and are expected to begin construction in the spring.

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The Kinship Co-op in the River District southeast of Vancouver was built, with all 140 units occupied and a waiting list. Armstrong said it completed under a federal financing program that provides low-fund, long-term mortgages.

Monica Jutt was one of the first to move into Kinship last year with her teenage daughter. She loves the sense of community at her co-op, like when her neighbor offered to drive her to pick up her daughter at her part-time job in a snowstorm this week. Work for hours in between.

Members are required to contribute to the running of the cooperative, for example gardening and social committees, and Yuth agreed to sit on the board.

I also like that I am not asked to move and that the cost of what the co-op calls housing is cheap. She didn’t want to disclose her previous or current monthly costs, but she said she paid about half of what she was paying for a two-bedroom in Maple Ridge.

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“We feel really blessed to be here,” said Jutt. “This is truly our forever home.”

The amount co-op members pay for monthly housing costs depends on their income and unit size. According to the chart provided, there are 4 units for a monthly shelter rate of $375, and the others range from $1,038 to $1,190 for studios, $1,200 to $1,600 for one bedrooms, and $1,450 to $2,400 for two bedrooms. $1,700 to $3,100 for a three-bedroom. by Armstrong.

According to the graph, members’ household incomes ranged from $41,500 to $124,000.

CHFBC released a study last month that showed members of co-operative housing built between 1972 and 1993 paid an average of 50-60% of rents in the 2021 Vancouver market.

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“Currently, with high construction costs, we really need state and federal funds to build affordable housing,” op Housing.

This should come in the form of infrastructure and construction grants so that local governments can set up more cooperatives.

A long-time member of the housing cooperative, White said that local governments like Vancouver are revamping their affordable housing policies and developing strategies that include working with the state and Ottawa to create a vision and funding structure. He said it was time to formulate.

A spokeswoman for BC’s Department of Housing said in an emailed statement that it could not comment on the status of the three co-housing projects that have not yet been built.

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The state announced to invest $7 billion over 10 years in 2017, and by the end of 2021/22, the state has spent $1.8 billion in capital and $230 million in operating funds, she said.

The federal housing minister and the Canadian Mortgage Corporation did not respond to requests for comment.

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