POWELL RIVER - Construction has started on a new housing development with 24 affordable rental homes for families and seniors with low to moderate incomes in Powell River.

“Together with our community partners, government is taking action to ensure more people in Powell River have a safe and affordable place to call home,” said Nicholas Simons, MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast. “This project would not be possible without the support and participation of the Life Cycle Housing Society and the Tla’amin Nation. Together, we’re building the affordable housing people need to stay in their community.”

Located at 6635 Cranberry St., Cranberry Place will include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes located in two townhouses and two apartment blocks. Each building will have a laundry room, a multipurpose room with washroom and kitchenette, and an outdoor play area for children. Life Cycle Housing Society, an experienced non-profit, will manage the homes once construction is complete.

The development will replace the eight aging single-family cottages on the site. BC Housing helped residents who were living in the cottages relocate to other affordable housing in the community. Once construction is complete, former residents will be offered an opportunity to move into the new homes.

“After years of planning, Life Cycle Housing is definitely excited to see Cranberry Place becoming a reality,” said Frances Ladret, president, Life Cycle Housing Society. “This development represents an impressive collaborative effort in true ‘qathet’ fashion. It is the result of assistance and support from many – including the Tla’amin Nation, which agreed to transfer a Crown lot to enlarge the total site, BC Housing, city council and planning staff, qathet Regional District, our design and build team of Spani Developments and Mobius Architecture, Vesta Consultants and, of course, our existing Cranberry residents who agreed to have their lives disrupted. We thank them all.”

The Province provided a grant of approximately $2.5 million from the Community Housing Fund toward construction of the 24 new homes. The Province, through BC Housing, will also provide the society with an annual operating subsidy of about $151,000, which will go toward management and maintenance costs.

Construction started in July 2021 and is expected to completed by summer 2022.

Quick Facts:

• The Community Housing Fund (CHF) is part of the Province’s 10-year, $7-billion housing plan.
  • The CHF is an investment of $1.9 billion over 10 years to build more than 14,000 affordable rental homes for low- and moderate-income families and individuals.
  • More than 8,800 of these homes are already open, under construction or in development.
• The CHF 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 about $74,000 and 20% of the units are for households with very low incomes (including those on income or disability assistance).
• In addition to this project, 44 new affordable homes are underway in Powell River at 4872 Ontario Ave., which will be available for low-income families and people with disabilities.

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