This is what 'attainable' housing looks like in new Kelowna tower
A housing agreement for a new 25-storey rental highrise on land owned by the City of Kelowna calls for “attainable” studio suites that will cost more to rent that the average one-bedroom apartment in the city.
The controversial tower, that went from an original proposal of 13 storeys to 25, is on the site of the former RCMP building at 350 Doyle Ave.
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A minimum of 10% of the units, all studio suites, would be priced as attainable, which works out to 26 of the 259 proposed units.
A report going to the City of Kelowna Monday, Nov. 21, points out a development permit can only be issued for the tower if a housing agreement is put in place first.
While affordable rental housing is considered to be 30% of income, the proposal is for “attainable” housing that’s tied on the average household income in Kelowna.
In 2020, based on Statistics Canada data, that was $82,000. That means the maximum rent for these studio suites would be $2,050 if rented today.
The rents will be adjusted as new data is produced by Statistics Canada.
The latest Zumper.com rental report shows the median priced one-bedroom apartment rents for $1,960 per month in Kelowna.
READ MORE: Rent for one-bedroom apartment in Kelowna now 5th highest in Canada
If approved, the owners will have to advertise the units for a minimum of one week. If there is more than one prospective tenant, the person with the lowest household income will get the suite “unless there is an objective and commercially reasonable reason not to.”
- This story was updated at 6:20 a.m. on Nov. 18, 2022 to correct an error in the ownership and location of the tower.
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