PARKSVILLE - Work is underway on a new housing development in Parksville that will provide 87 affordable rental homes for families, seniors and people living with disabilities with moderate and low incomes.

"These homes will go a long way to addressing the critical need for affordable housing in Parksville," said Adam Walker, MLA for Parksville-Qualicum. "I look forward to seeing the difference these new rental homes will have on the lives of the families and seniors that will call this place home."

Located at 360 Moilliet St. S., some of these homes will also be geared to people who have been commuting into town for work, because they can't find affordable housing in Parksville.

The new development will consist of eight three-bedroom town homes and a 79-unit apartment building with one- and two-bedroom options.

The Province is providing approximately $9.5 million through the Building BC: Community Housing Fund and will provide approximately $598,000 in annual operational funding. The City of Parksville and the Regional District of Nanaimo waived development costs totalling $725,000 for this development.

To help preserve the large mature trees and provide natural stormwater management, a 0.5- hectare (1.25 acres) parkland on the building site is being protected as park space.

The building will be operated by the Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society, which will have on- site office space.

People are expected to start moving into their new homes in spring/summer 2023.

Quotes:

Ed Mayne, mayor, City of Parksville -

"I'm excited for the people who will be living in these new homes. We know there are many families needing quality affordable housing. Having housing so people can live in the community where they work is key to a sustainable workforce for our city. The City of Parksville is proud to support the Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society's project, made possible through the Province's Building BC: Community Housing Fund."

Andrea Blakeman, CEO, Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society -

"This new project at 360 Moilliet St. represents the impactful work that results when municipal, provincial and local organizations work together. Finding affordable housing, especially on Vancouver Island, is a struggle for many members of our communities. We are grateful to the City of Parksville, the Regional District of Nanaimo and BC Housing for their exceptional collaboration to make this project a reality and build new homes for many families. We hope this development represents the first of many projects we work on together."

Tyler Brown, chair, Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) -

"With the cost of housing continuing to rise, it is becoming harder every day for individuals and families to find affordable housing. This issue is a strategic priority for the RDN, and one of the actions we can take to respond to housing insecurity in our region is to waive sewer development cost charges (DCCs) for eligible not-for-profit rental housing projects. We are pleased to help make this affordable housing project a reality by waiving $423,599 in sewer DCCs."

Quick Facts:

• The Community Housing Fund is part of the Province's 10-year, $7-billion housing plan.
• The fund is an investment of $1.9 billion to build more than 14,000 affordable rental homes over 10 years for moderate- and low-income families and individuals.
  • More than 8,800 of these homes are already open, under construction or in development around the province.
• The Community Housing Fund supports mixed-income buildings where 50% of the units are for households with annual incomes up to $64,000, 30% of the units are for households with incomes up to approximately $74,000 and 20% of the units are for households with very low incomes (including those on income or disability assistance).
• Through provincial investments, more than 1,520 affordable homes have opened or are underway in the Regional District of Nanaimo since 2017. Of those, 213 are located in Parksville.

Learn More:

A map showing the location of all announced provincially funded housing projects in B.C. is available online: https://www.bchousing.org/homes-for-BC

To learn about the steps the Province is taking to tackle the housing crisis and deliver affordable homes for British Columbians, visit: https://workingforyou.gov.bc.ca/

Contacts:

Ministry of Attorney General and Responsible for Housing
Media Relations
778 678-1572

BC Housing
Media Relations
media@bchousing.org

Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society
info@nahs.ca
250 755-1158