The federal government has announced it's funnelling $184 million into the construction of affordable housing in Vancouver – a city that was recently ranked the most expensive place to live in Canada.
The investment is part of Ottawa's $55 billion National Housing Strategy, which includes a goal of decreasing chronic homelessness across the country by half.
Officials said the $184 million will come from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and fund up to 1,100 units of affordable housing, all of which will be built on city-owned sites across Vancouver.
"Today is a great day for housing in Vancouver. The federal government is making an historic investment in housing that will help provide a safe and affordable place to call home for up to 1,100 families," Jean-Yves Duclos, the minister responsible for CMHC, said in a statement.
It's unclear how much families will be charged to rent the units. Rental guidelines released by the City of Vancouver earlier this year raised eyebrows by deeming $2,056 for a one-bedroom apartment in the west side "affordable" – though it was referencing for-profit housing projects specifically.
The first of the federally-funded affordable housing developments is a co-op that's currently being built in Vancouver's River District, and set to open next year with 140 units.
The full list of projects includes:
- 1001 Kingsway
- 1210 Seymour Street and 560 Davie Street
- 177 West Pender Street
- 3310 Marine Way
- 3279-3297 Vanness Avenue
- 1190 Burrard Street and 937 Davie Street
- 3183, 3245 Pierview Crescent
- 288 East Hastings Street
- 2303-2355 Vanness Avenue
Overall, the federal government's National Housing Strategy aims to create 100,000 new housing units and "repair and renew" more than 300,000 housing units across Canada.
