Nanaimo Council asks province for extension on $7M housing offer
NANAIMO — After concerns about a tight and unmanageable timeline, Nanaimo City Council has asked the provincial government for an extension on the offer of $7 million for supportive housing.
The letter from the mayor’s office, sent to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said the “timeframe afforded by the Provincial program for our community to identify an approved site to accommodate the proposed modular housing, is just not achievable.”
The project, a $7 million, 44-unit supportive housing complex planned for Cranberry Ave. in Chase River, was controversial for many reasons. Members of the community had their voice heard over the location near a school, the lack of available services in the area and a lack of clarity over who would stay in the housing complex.
During an open house, held after the project was announced for the site on Cranberry Ave., both councillors and City staff had very different answers for an incensed community.