By Spencer Sterritt

Construction of desperately needed seniors rental housing starts this summer

Jul 9, 2018 | 2:17 PM

NANAIMO — Struggling seniors will soon have a roof over their heads without the constant stress of worrying how to pay for it.

The province and the Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society formally announced their $16.6-million, 159 unit development at 10 Buttertubs Dr. will be built in late summer of 2018.

Units are priced between $700 and $1,200, either one or two bedrooms with a variety of different layouts designed to be accessible for seniors.

Jim Spinelli, executive director of the Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society, said such a substantial housing development is sorely needed in the city.

“We have some tenants paying 50 per cent of their income on rent,” he said of the current situation seniors face across the Harbour City. “There’s a group of people between 40 and 65 who are getting $375 a month and rents in Nanaimo for a one-bedroom are now around $900. It’s not a surprise we have people living on the street.”

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Many times during a press conference on Monday, July 9, speakers referenced how the nearly 160 units of housing was a “drop in the bucket.”

“That means we need to add another drop and another drop until the bucket is overflowing,” premier John Horgan told a packed house at the announcement.

The Society anticipated Nanaimo will need roughly 800 units of affordable housing for seniors within the next 10 years.

Dave Moddle, vice-president of the Society board of directors, said he’s confident there will be enough housing for everyone.

“We’ve gone from having one project we started over 25 years ago and grown to this place. You start with that and keep working and working. We’re committed to putting housing first in people’s lives,” he said.

The long-in-the-works project was initially going to be roughly 50-units for $8.5 million, funded by BC Housing under the previous Liberal administration, with another phase of construction to add more units at a later date. The BC NDP then approached the Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society shortly after the 2017 election, offering more funding to build the development all at one time.

Building permits for the development were submitted to the City on June 14, 2018 and are expected to be issued soon, clearing the way for construction to begin. It’s expected to be open by September 2020.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit