It took years to make it happen, but 90 spacious units of mixed affordable rates are under way at 267 Orwell St. in North Vancouver.Andrew Latreille/Andrew Latreille
Subsidizing affordable housing with the sale of market housing is a nice idea, but in B.C.’s market downturn, it’s a model that’s showing major cracks.
Typically, municipal governments require 20 per cent of the floor area of a new residential tower includes rental units that are below market, made possible by allowing extra density for market-rate housing. The city of Vancouver’s latest initiative is creating 17 mixed use neighbourhoods, or villages, throughout the city that will include below-market rental housing to be “diverse and inclusive.” Ross McCredie, founder of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, and chief executive officer of Sutton Group, doesn’t see how that will play out in this economy.
“You think about what they’re trying to do here in Vancouver, and [mayor] Ken Sim and everything, which is great, but at the same time, these initiatives, how are we going to pay for them – when presales are down 70 or 80 per cent? And governments and municipalities heavily depend on those closings to fund their administrations.
“When they talk about market housing paying for non-market housing, and you don’t have a market, this may end up being a lot of talk and not a lot of building.”
The units were made possible with the city-owned site, funding from BC Housing and Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation, some grant money and waivers of development cost levies.Andrew Latreille/Andrew Latreille
And that’s a problem, because the delivery of affordable housing relies on the private development sector – if not to build actual units in exchange for density, then to provide cash to go toward affordable housing, known as community amenity contributions.
“Those fees won’t be there if they can’t build those units, and they won’t build the units, if they can’t do the presale,” says Mr. McCredie. “A big chunk of those presales goes to investors, and investors are pretty much gone from the market now. So, a lot of the product the investors would normally buy are smaller studios and small one-bedrooms – that’s why there is a lot of those out there – but now you have a situation where investors are fleeing.”
And the small studios and one-bedroom units built for investors aren’t flying off the shelves because they’re not desirable to young families and people looking for a long-term home, he says.
Architect Steve McFarlane made use of a neighbouring building to create an outdoor courtyard for a community vibe.Andrew Latreille/Andrew Latreille
Mr. McCredie believes the municipalities should stop working on the problem in isolation and come up with a regional plan to provide affordable housing. Others see the solution in more direct funding of affordable housing projects, or in the protection of existing affordable housing, which is being lost due to redevelopment.
It took years to make it happen, but 90 spacious units of mixed affordable rates are under way at 267 Orwell St. in North Vancouver, made possible with the city-owned site, funding from BC Housing and Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation, some grant money and waivers of development cost levies. The Salal Apartments units are larger than the standard-issue market rate units, and the build is an economical six-storey wood-frame that is close to shops, schools and the updated Phibbs Exchange transit hub. It’s not often that the district sees non-market housing get developed, but it was badly needed, says Feezah Jaffer, executive director of the Sanford Housing Society, which operates the new building.
“Salal is mixed use, in the sense that it’s 20 per cent deep subsidy, or shelter rate, 50 per cent rent geared to income, and 30 per cent low end of the market. It’s a mix of different economic backgrounds, different life experience, ethnicities, coming together to form a community,” says Ms. Jaffer. The society has projects throughout the Lower Mainland. Turnover is low, and when they do get units available, they receive dozens of applications, she says. The demand for affordable units far outweighs the supply.
“It behooves us as a society to really look at how to bring people together, but really maintain the affordable housing aspect. That’s one thing we really need to work on, meeting them where they are at, creating infrastructure and amenities so they can thrive,” says Ms. Jaffer.
Architect Steve McFarlane, who’s also designing Broadway Plan towers, said a central idea behind the Salal is to provide housing for people who live within the area. He also made use of a neighbouring building to create an outdoor courtyard for a community vibe. There’s a trend toward more thoughtful, equitable below-market housing spaces than in previous decades, when shared spaces weren’t a consideration.
“It went through a few design iterations and had pauses while funding was put in place – it’s not about immediacy,” says Mr. McFarlane, one of the principals of Office of McFarlane Biggar Architects + Designers. “It takes forever to get things built these days. … No matter what the price point is, it’s challenging.”
McFarlane, who’s also designing Broadway Plan towers, said a central idea behind the Salal is to provide housing for people who live within the area.Andrew Latreille/Andrew Latreille
And naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) and naturally occurring retirement communities (NORC) are ideas that are taking hold, particularly in communities where there isn’t pressure to redevelop. The idea, which started in the U.S., says housing researcher Steve Pomeroy, involves moving private-market buildings into public ownership, or providing financing to renters or landlords. Due to gentrification, NOAH is mostly eroding in bigger urban centres, but such housing units are lost in secondary markets too. B.C.’s Rental Protection Fund has provided an initial $500-million towards the purchase of older apartment buildings where renters have low rents, to protect them from displacement.
In Sechelt, Affordable Housing Society co-ordinator Kelly Foley is working to develop a NORC in an existing apartment building, bringing supports to seniors who are isolated and lonely, enabling them to age in place. NORC programs often involve building upgrades as well.
“It’s our first prototype, with the goal of refining that and developing other NORCs in the community,” she says.
Mei Fang, Simon Fraser assistant professor who specializes in urban aging, has been mapping out areas of the Lower Mainland where there are high concentrations of low-income seniors. So far, she’s found higher concentrations in Vancouver, North Vancouver and Richmond. She believes more research is needed to identify these existing older affordable apartments, which aren’t always providing an acceptable standard of living, or fostering a supportive environment.
“Maybe part of the challenge and research we need to do is figure out where these buildings are. … Because it’s not a space that’s planned or designed as a place of retirement. You don’t actually know where they are. You have to find out where this is occurring and figure out what supports are needed, so it’s safe, accessible, and there are things for them to do.”
Andrew Latreille/Andrew Latreille