Province green lights affordable rental project for North Vancouver

The provincial government has announced a new rental project for people with low-to-moderate incomes in North Vancouver will be among those earmarked to receive future funding.

The project, which will eventually be built on land owned by the District of North Vancouver on Old Lillooet Road, has received “initial approval” through the province’s Community House Fund, the government announced this week.

The project is expected to eventually provide 166 affordable rental units for families, individuals and seniors.

The North Vancouver housing project is among 17 in Metro Vancouver selected through the third intake of the province’s Community Housing Fund, intended to provide 20,000 affordable rental homes by 2031-32.

Under the program, residents of 70 per cent of the units pay rent geared to income, where rent is generally based on 30 per cent of household income.

This includes 20 per cent of units for residents with very low incomes, such as those receiving income or disability assistance.

The remaining 30 per cent of units are available at or below market rents for households with moderate incomes.

So far, the project is still in very early planning stages and there’s no word on exactly what will be built on the vacant 2.4-acre site at the southwest corner of Old Lillooet Road and Lillooet Road.

There’s also no word on the overall project budget or how much the province will provide.

The project is being built as a partnership between BC Housing and the More Than A Roof Society, a non-profit housing society that develops and manages subsidized housing as well as providing mental health support and addiction recovery services.

The organization currently runs housing in Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, the Fraser Valley and Prince George, as well as on Vancouver Island.

In November, District of North Vancouver council agreed to put up to 180 affordable rental homes on municipal-owned land on Lillooet Road, just north of the Holiday Inn.

Council voted 6-1 to rezone the land, allowing the municipality to seek out grant funding from the province for construction of a six-storey building with 100 to 180 homes.

Construction on that project is expected to start in the next two years.