Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK
September 19, 2020 - 9:30 AM
The first round of 157 one and two-bedroom rental homes built for middle-income Kelowna residents has been snapped up and more should be ready by December.
Tenants have been moving in the first 80 rental homes of a 726 Clement Avenue development since Sept. 1. The apartments are for households with incomes ranging between $52,000 and $71,000 and have been in the works since being annouced in May 2019. A one-bedroom rental costs $1,300 a month and two-bedroom units are $1,780 a month.
"Years of inaction on the housing crisis by the previous government meant people had been left behind, even people with middle incomes, like teachers, nurses and small business owners, who have struggled to find an affordable place to call home," Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing said in a press release.
The project was built in partnership with PC Urban Properties through BC Housing's HousingHub program, which was created in 2018. It works with community, government, non-profit and private-sector partners to help create new affordable rental housing and home-ownership options for middle-income British Columbians.
Construction on a second six-storey building, which will provide 77 rental homes for people with middle income, is expected to be complete by December 2020.
"Providing a variety of options across the housing spectrum is essential to meeting the needs of all Kelowna residents," Colin Basran, mayor, City of Kelowna said in a press release.
"As more of the population relies on rental housing, purpose-built rental housing in Kelowna will only become more important so residents have access to attainable and affordable housing."
The Province, through the HousingHub, provided interim construction financing of approximately $39.5 million for the 157-unit project in Kelowna.
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation in January announced that Kelowna's vacancy rate climbed from 1.9 per cent in 2017 to 2.7 per cent last year.
It has been as low as 0.2 per cent in recent years.
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