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Two Kelowna supportive housing units now for sale — for nearly $350,000

Two apartments are for sale in the McCurdy Place supportive housing building.
Two apartments are for sale in the McCurdy Place supportive housing building.

After 13,000 Kelowna residents signed a petition against a supportive housing complex on McCurdy Road in Rutland, it went ahead anyways and opened in March with 49 studio apartments.

Now, two separate, one-bedroom apartments in the same building are for sale at McCurdy Place for $335,900 and $349,500.

Residents of the 49 supportive housing units started moving in on March 22. Units are similar to hotel rooms. That is, they are about 300 square feet with no partitions except for a bathroom. They have a stove, fridge and sink.

READ MORE: Controversial Kelowna supportive housing facility will be 'dry'

The two apartments that are for sale are significantly different, being one bedroom units and more than twice the size of those lived in by the formerly homeless residents.

READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Controversial Kelowna supporting housing complex set to open

The smaller unit is 104. Its one bedroom has no closet, just a clothes rack and one bathroom.

It is 667 square feet and is on sale for $335,900, with condo fees of $225 a month.

It faces east “for morning sunshine while you sit in your living room or on your deck for that first cup of coffee/tea,” the listing says.

Unit 102 is west facing “for evening sunsets while you sit in your living room or on your deck” and slightly bigger (685 square feet) so slightly more expensive at $349,500 with condo fees of $232.

With a 20 per cent down payment, the mortgage cost will be about $1,000 per month, plus the condo fees.

The other residents pay $375 a month, which is the social assistance shelter allowance, according to B.C. Housing.

“These condos were designed at the highest standards for B.C. Housing,” the listing states, boasting of “high end, anti-allergenic cabinets” and each has in-house laundry. A cat or small dog is allowed in each.

While the listing pictures the front of McCurdy Place, there is no mention of the fact that the other residents in the building were recently homeless. Nor is there any mention of the support services available to those other residents being available, or not available, to buyers.

The two apartments were listed for sale about a week ago by Re/Max realtor Scott Jennings. He would not comment about the level of interest so far without his client being present.

The listings can be viewed here.

McCurdy Place replaced the old Knights of Columbus Hall and was funded by B.C. Housing but with the caveat that the Knights of Columbus would have an office in the building and two apartment units.

Financial arrangements for the project were not disclosed at the time and neither the Knights of Columbus nor B.C. Housing were able to respond to questions from iNFOnews.ca by publication time.

Rutland residents were upset when the project was announced as there were already two others (Heath House and Hearthstone) in the area and they feared McCurdy Place was too close to schools.

Supportive housing complexes are built by B.C. Housing to house the homeless. Many residents move in from temporary shelters and may have addiction and/or mental health issues.

Many such projects in the province have been met by stiff opposition from neighbours in recent years.

The Rutland residents launched a massive petition drive in the spring of 2019 and collected more than 13,000 signatures from Kelowna residents.

The only concession they won was that people moving into McCurdy Place have to sign an agreement not to consume illegal drugs on site. Most other supportive housing complexes allow in-room consumption and provide supervised injection sites.


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