AFFORDABLE HOUSING BREAKS GROUND IN NANAIMO

NANAIMO - Construction is underway at 2104 Bowen Road in Nanaimo on a 20-unit development for single adults living with low or fixed incomes who are at risk of homelessness, announced Rich Coleman, Minister of Housing and Social Development.
“Thanks to the collective effort of the Province, Canadian Home Builders Association and City of Nanaimo, people who struggle with the risk of homelessness and who face a daily range of challenges will now have access to safe and stable housing in Nanaimo,” said Coleman. “We’re committed to helping find creative housing solutions for the homeless.”

The development will help people move beyond temporary shelter to more secure housing, greater self-reliance and appropriate employment.

“For Nanaimo, finding real and lasting remedies to homelessness has been a top priority,” said Nanaimo-Parksville MLA Ron Cantelon. “The community has focused hard on this issue, resulting in creative solutions and partnerships being formed towards working together to get people off the streets and in secured housing in order for them to move forward with their lives.”

This project arose from a Public Forum on Affordable Housing in 2006 that was sponsored by the Nanaimo Working Group on Homelessness. As well as ongoing support from the Province, this project is being built in partnership with the Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA) Central Vancouver Island, and is on property provided by the City of Nanaimo. The development will be operated by the Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society (NAHS).

“We are proud to be involved in a constructive initiative addressing housing affordability,” said Rob MacCallum, president of CHBA – Central Vancouver Island. “This development will go a long way towards providing a long-term solution to the issue of homelessness in our community.”

“This new development will give single people in our community who are living on a low or fixed income an opportunity to settle and start new lives,” said Jim Spinelli, executive director, NAHS. “The Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society knows the challenges faced by individuals who want to become self-sufficient and contribute overall to a safer, healthier community.”

In keeping with the provincial objective of reducing the impact of development on the environment, this project has been designed to meet the Canadian Homebuilders’ “Built Green – Gold” standard. Through the program, homebuilders, suppliers and manufacturers are trained to develop homes that can be officially certified as Built Green. As well, the program educates the public on the value of a home that meets Built Green standards.

The Province has committed to creating more than 4,000 new housing units under the Provincial Homelessness Initiative. The Province’s budget for shelters and affordable housing is $400 million – more than three times what it was in 2001.

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BACKGROUNDER
2104 BOWEN ROAD

The Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society’s (NAHS) new development at 2104 Bowen Road in Nanaimo will provide 20 units for single adults living on low or fixed incomes who are at risk of homelessness due to the rising cost of market housing in the community.

The development will consist of five two-storey buildings each with four 46-square-metre (500-square-foot) one-bedroom units. The property is located on a bus route and is less than a kilometre from a shopping mall and services.

PARTNERS AND FUNDING:
The total capital cost of this development is approximately $4.5 million.

Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society (NAHS)
Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society (NAHS) continues to be an advocate for affordable housing in Nanaimo, and in other mid-Island communities, and has been an active member of the Nanaimo Working Group on Homelessness and the BC Non-Profit Housing Association. NAHS also operates two projects that together provide 44 units of supportive housing for single adults with permanent disabilities, and one 17-unit, low-income family housing complex. The last project completed was a 24-unit complex at 135 Wallace Street that opened in the spring of 2005. All of the NAHS projects have been developed in partnership with BC Housing.

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Media contacts:
Darija Tomasic
BC Housing
604 456-8845
604 374-4534 (cell)

Jim Spinelli
Executive Director
Nanaimo Affordable Housing
250 755-1158