VERNON - Families, seniors and people with disabilities in Vernon will soon have access to additional rental homes they can afford as construction begins on a 13-unit housing project in partnership with the Okanagan Village Housing Society.

"To address the housing affordability crisis in our community, we must work together with community partners like the Okanagan Village Housing Society," said Harwinder Sandhu, MLA for Vernon-Monashee. "Every new home we build together takes us another step closer to addressing the critical need for affordable homes in Vernon."

Located at 6335 Okanagan Landing Rd., the project will provide affordable rental homes for people with moderate and low incomes. It will have a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes over two stories.

The project is located close to Vernon's downtown core with easy access to public services, schools, a nearby walking trail and public transit. It will be operated by the Okanagan Village Housing Society.

"With the current housing crisis in Vernon, we are very happy to be working with BC Housing and the City of Vernon on this project," said Cindy Masters, executive director, Okanagan Village Housing Society. "Special thanks to CMHC and Community Foundation of the North Okanagan, which helped with seed funding. This project is a beautiful example of what can happen when people collaborate."

The Province is providing approximately $1.5 million for the project through the Building BC: Community Housing Fund and will provide annual operating funding of approximately $112,000.

The City of Vernon owns the site and has leased the land to the Okanagan Village Housing Society for 60 years. The city is also contributing approximately $150,000 for the project.

"Fostering the development of a vibrant, diverse and sustainable community requires great collaboration and partnership," said Victor Cumming, mayor, City of Vernon. "The city is grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Province and the Okanagan Village Housing Society to see this much-needed housing project come to life. It is because of projects and partnerships like these that we can take steps forward in addressing a very serious need for more accessible and attainable housing options in the North Okanagan."

People are expected to start moving into their new homes in early 2023.

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 throughout 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).
• Since 2017, through investments by the Province, approximately 460 new homes have opened or are underway in Vernon.

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