Construction on a seniors and affordable housing complex on Seafield Cres. near Nanaimo hospital is set to get underway in the near future. (City of Nanaimo)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

MORE HOUSING

New seniors & affordable housing complex set to begin construction in central Nanaimo

Feb 4, 2022 | 10:49 AM

NANAIMO — Shovels are ready to go into the ground on a new housing development in the city.

The 62-unit complex featuring one and two bedroom suites is due to begin construction shortly after the City of Nanaimo issues a building permit for the site at 1125 Seafield Cres.

Sunfield Manor to be located near Nanaimo Regional General Hospital will be operated by the Woodgrove Senior Citizen Housing Society.

“We have been working on this project for some four years, with a goal of replacing our existing 30-unit building and increasing the availability of low-cost seniors housing,” Eric Kutzner, society director, said in a release.

Half of the the units in the five-storey building will be rented for 30 per cent of a tenant’s income while the some will be reserved for those on income or disability assistance.

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“Twenty per cent of the units will be rented to households with very low incomes, such as those receiving income or disability assistance, or a seniors’ pension. The remainder of the units will be at or below market rent. The rents for those units will not be determined until closer to the building opening,” according to a statement from BC Housing.

It’s expected people will begin moving into Sunfield Manor in mid-2023.

Development of the units is the first of a two-part phase for the property with residents in an existing 30-unit building to move over to the new facility before replacing the old building occurs.

Existing residents won’t see their rents increase as a result of the move.

The province provided a grant of $6.6 million through their Community Housing Fund and will pay around $268,000 in annual operating expenses.

Additional funding from the City of Nanaimo and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation through either monetary contributions or waived fees.

The province said they have funded more than 1,200 affordable homes in Nanaimo since 2017.

However a September 2021 announcement of “affordable rental homes” from the province, involving 180 units on Third St. will be actually offered at near-market rents between $900 and $2,000 per month for micro to two-bedroom suites.

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