Delta will soon be home to 360 new affordable housing units, after the provincial government announced a $36-million investment in the community on Tuesday (Nov. 13).
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Delta North MLA Ravi Kahlon. “I think any time you get affordable rental units built in your community it’s a good thing.”
The 360 rental units will be divided between three South Delta projects: Affordable Housing Societies’ 54-home project in Ladner, Red Door Housing Society’s 146-home project in Ladner and KinVillage Association’s 160-home project in Tsawwassen.
The two Ladner locations will be geared towards seniors and families searching for affordable housing, while the Tsawwassen project is only for seniors. Each project will have a mix of affordable housing types, including units where rent is based on income and deep-subsidy units.
No North Delta projects were proposed in this initial funding announcement, which will see 72 new affordable housing projects built in 42 communities across B.C. In total, they will provide 4,900 units of affordable housing for middle-, moderate- and low-income families.
(The definition of middle-, moderate- and low-income varies by housing type. For homes with less than two bedrooms, the moderate-income limit is $71,200 and the middle-income limit is $111,750. For homes with two or more bedrooms, the limits are $104,440 and $152,870, respectively.)
The 72 projects announced Tuesday are part of the Building BC: Community Housing Fund — a $1.9-billion strategy by the provincial government to build 14,000 homes in 10 years.
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The long-term strategy is application-based, Kahlon said. Interested non-profit or even private partners who decide to partner with non-profits can apply to the provincial government for funding to build affordable housing.
In the first round of applications, no proposals came from North Delta, Kahlon said. He’s hoping that will change as the years go forward.
“Just in the moments of releasing this announcement, I’ve had groups come forward and say we’re interesting in partnering with BC Housing,” he said.
Kahlon also said he’s been in communication with some private firms who are interested in building affordable homes in North Delta that would be available for sale. These would not fall under the Building BC: Community Housing Fund, as it only covers rental units.
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