An affordable housing project on Brunswick Street now has two non-profit organizations at the helm and construction is estimated to start within the next year.
The 67-unit building of affordable housing at 284 Brunswick St. will be built and operated by the Penticton and District Community Resources Society together with Catalyst Community Development Society, the Ministry of Natural Gas Development and Responsible for Housing announced on Wednesday.
Penticton Mayor Andrew Jakubeit estimates construction is likely to get started within a year.
The construction was initially supposed to start in 2016, he said, but that date has since been pushed.
“The reality of announcing (Wednesday) who the partner is, and then for them to sit down and get a building properly designed and that kind of stuff, you’re looking to the fall and whether they can start before winter starts, after winter or next spring,” Jakubeit said. “The reality is there is probably not going to be substantial completion until sometime in 2017. We like to hope sooner. The demand and need is there now so the sooner they can get at it the better.”
It is too early at this point to ballpark what the rental rates will be, but Jakubeit said they are aiming to entice young families and the working poor, keeping rates low being the objective.
“That’s sort of the target audience as far as rental rates,” Jakubeit said.
He noted the land was donated and through collaboration with B.C. Housing there will be reduced, and maybe even waived, development costs, which should factor into the rental costs at the end of the day.
“Some of the upfront costs have been reduced, so that should lower the price per unit. It should be a little bit easier to charge a lower rate. And to have a non-profit run it is usually an opportunity for a lower rental rate as well,” Jakubeit said.
The second property committed to the next phase of the affordable housing project, 260 Brunswick St., also encompasses the Penticton Lawnbowling Club, something the city still has to work out with members. Their lease runs out in 2018, Jakubeit said.
“We haven’t spent a lot of time with them yet, in terms of finding them a new home,” Jakubeit said. “Perhaps they could work something out with the Seniors’ Drop-in Centre then you would have horseshoes, pickleball, lawn bowling and some of the other activities indoors. It might be a good location, there might be good synergy there.”
The next step for the societies building the project is getting detailed designs started and working with the city’s planning department to start getting permits and lining up contractors over the next three or four months.
The city lobbied for the project at the UBCM conference earlier this year, meeting with Minister Responsible for Housing Rich Coleman, and beating out tough competition from other communities, Jakubeit said.
“You need partnerships for good things to happen and for other levels of government to not just see value, but commit to doing things,” Jakubeit said.
“We are thrilled to partner with the province, City of Penticton and Catalyst Community Development Society to create much-needed housing for families in Penticton. We are eager to move this project through the development stages and start the construction project next year,” said Tanya Behardien, executive director of the Penticton and District Community Resources Society, in a press release.
The project aims to fill the void for the community for those younger families and working poor in Penticton.
“We need more rental spots. I had an email from a lady from Ontario who said ‘hey I just found my dream job, but I can’t find a place to rent can you help?’ The vacancy rate is really low and it’s really hard to find a nice, quality apartment for rent right now, so there certainly is a need.”