After months of delays, the first residents of the former Olympic Village's social housing units moved into their suites on Wednesday.

Tessa Schmidt was one of the first tenants to settle in, marking a new milestone in freedom for the 19-year-old with cerebral palsy.

"I was totally dependent on my parents for every little thing that I had to do," she told CTV News.

But not anymore. Schmidt's new apartment is completely wheelchair accessible and designed to meet the needs of people like her -- it was built to house Paralympic athletes.

She said she was overjoyed to hear she'd secured a place in the development.

"I get a phone call saying, ‘Tessa, you've got the place.' I call everyone I know just screaming," she said, describing the new suite as "ridiculous."

The 252 units of social housing in the development are managed by the Co-operative Housing Federation of B.C., selected by the city last month after the provincial government rejected three bids to operate the units.

The federation's Thom Armstrong said that several factors are taken into account when tenants are chosen.

"It's based on people's income profile and their household composition. We match that to the unit size, and then we invite them for an interview, and then we welcome them as new tenants," Armstrong said.

He added that people in wheelchairs are getting first priority.

"We're focusing on them first because they need the housing the most," he said.

Another new resident, Kyle Bordage, said he was thanking his lucky stars for his apartment.

"There's a long wait list for wheelchair-accessible permanent housing, so I felt very lucky that I got accepted here," he said.

While the social housing and affordable rental units are filling up, the condominium portion of the Olympic Village remains virtually empty. The project has been put into receivership and will be re-launched in February with new pricing.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson wants the units to sell, but cautions against expectations of a fire sale.

"It's up to the receiver alone to figure out the pricing," he said. "It's a balance of making sure people are in here and the place comes alive, and also ensuring we get the returns."

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson