SALMON ARM - Thirty-five new affordable rental homes are now available for families, seniors and individuals with low to moderate incomes in Salmon Arm, with the second phase of a new housing development opening in the community.

"Salmon Arm residents need more affordable housing options. This new building will help families, seniors and singles find a safe, affordable place to call home," said David Eby, Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing. "Our government is making investments to build thousands of affordable new homes across the province to make sure that British Columbians can access housing that works for them."

Located at 540 3rd St., Birch Place is the second building to open as part of a 105-unit housing development on a two-acre lot. It has one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom homes. Monthly rents at the building are as follows:

• 13 rent-geared-to-income units (people with low to moderate incomes): $564 (one bedroom) to $956 (four bedrooms)
• 13 units for people with low incomes (i.e., seniors on fixed incomes and people receiving income assistance): $875 (one bedroom) to $1,380 (four bedrooms)
• Nine units for people with very low incomes: $375 (one bedroom) to $700 (four bedrooms)

The first building, Larch Place, also located at 540 3rd St., opened in February 2021. It includes 32 homes for individuals, seniors and families with low to moderate incomes. The Province provided a total of $6.7 million for both buildings through the Building BC: Community Housing Fund.

A third building with 38 supportive homes for people experiencing homelessness is anticipated to open in fall 2021. This building will be funded through the Province's Supportive Housing Fund. All housing on the site will be run by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Shuswap-Revelstoke.

Residents started moving into Birch Place on June 1, 2021.

Quotes:

Harwinder Sandhu, MLA for Vernon-Monashee -

"Everyone deserves the peace of mind that comes with having an affordable place to live. The opening of this new building will give people with a range of incomes in Salmon Arm a sense of security, knowing they can make rent each month. Thank you to our community partners for working with us to help people in Salmon Arm - from seniors to families - be able to live affordably."

Alan Harrison, mayor, City of Salmon Arm -

"The 35 new rental units opening in Birch Place, could not have come at a better time. This has truly been a team effort. We would like to thank our partners, BC Housing, CMHA and Jobeck Enterprises for working with us."

Dawn Dunlop, executive director, CMHA Shuswap-Revelstoke -

"We are pleased to be opening up our second building of this project, Birch Place. We are grateful to our community and partners for supporting the work we do in community."

Quick Facts:

• The City of Salmon Arm contributed $63,800 in waived fees and reduced development costs for the project.
• 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 to build more than 14,000 affordable rental homes for low- and moderate-income families and individuals over 10 years. More than 6,100 of these homes are already open, under construction or in development.
• 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).

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