Mayor Ken Christian speaking at a supportive housing press conference on Jan. 17

(KELLY MCKAY / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS - Local business associations say two new affordable and supportive housing projects are vital to the City of Kamloops.

With the announcement of more than 100 modular homes being built on two separate locations, local business associations say they are on board.

“We are in favour of this project, we perceive it as a positive step forward in the continuum. It will be a benefit to the whole Tranquille corridor and the whole City of Kamloops,” North Shore Business Improvement Association’s Executive Director Jeremy Heighton said.

The business association has a working relationship with the city and has urged the government to act.

“We are part of an ongoing conversation with the city, the province and others. We are stakeholders at the table. We did a safe streets survey last year and those indicated that we needed action on some of those initiatives, Heighton said.

Support has been strong throughout the North Shore for housing projects for the homeless, but Heighton said there has been some dissenting views.

“I like to have dissenting voices every once in awhile, it makes you assess and ensure what you’re doing moving forward is positive. It has been mostly positive reinforcement from our board and our members," he said. 

The City of Kamloops also recently purchased five lots on St. Paul Street for $2.35 million plus legal costs. The plan is to build more housing projects on this land in conjunction with the provincial government.

The plans for these lots will be announced in February, according to Mayor Ken Christian.

“The housing will be on a different continuum, but I’ll be anxious to welcome back Minister Selena Robinson back in February to talk about those projects,” Christian said.

The Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association says it is fully on board to build more housing on these lots.

“We are very aware of the long term strategic plans in developing housing across the entire continuum. We do believe that we need more supportive housing and affordable housing within our community,” General Manager Gay Pooler said.

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