A proposed housing project was back before council yesterday after some revision to the plan.
The affordable housing proposal expanded to include a greater mix of supportive housing and market-based rentals, and grew from 53 units and 5-storeys to 68 units in a 6 storey building.
Mayor Sharie Minions said the second and third stage housing is desperately needed.
“It’s something that we’ve been working on with CMHA for quite a while now, and came back to council because they’ve updated the proposal a little bit to really reflect what are the true needs of the community, not just affordable housing, but some affordable housing and some affordable housing that comes with supprts for the people living there, so really a continuum of care that will serve a variety of types of people in our community.”
The project is being led by the local Canadian Mental Health Association along with BC Housing.
The City of Port Alberni is giving the CMHA a long-term lease for the second avenue property that has been an empty parking lot for decades.
Minions said the city is giving the society a long-term lease as their contribution to the project.
“The city isn’t a formal partner in this project but we have committed to contributing the land if the project is successfully funded with BC Housing,” she said. “We’ve done that in a few cases and we’ve found it to be a really successful way to get BC Government dollars into our community. Offering up that land is something we have access to without having to increase taxes and often a really great way to get these important projects funded in our community.”
The properties at 3027 and 3037 2nd Avenue were assessed at $385,000
Construction could begin in early 2023.
Comments