An application to bring 92 new units of affordable housing to Mission鈥檚 tallest building was recently declined by BC Housing.
Apex Western Homes CEO Raymond Vesely developed the 11-storey building on 33230 2nd Avenue to bring affordable housing to Mission鈥檚 downtown. In a month, it will be ready for people to move in.
鈥淚鈥檓 really disappointed at all this rhetoric about trying to get affordable homes for people. Well, I did my part,鈥� Vesely said.
Apex intended for a non-profit to own the property and partnered with More Than A Roof on an application to BC Housing in October under the Community Housing Fund. More Than A Roof is a non-profit housing provider that develops and manages housing for low to moderate income seniors, families and individuals.
The grant application included 10 storeys of affordable housing with rates ranging from 20 per cent below market to 50 per cent below market. The bottom floor would contain a shared kitchen, laundromat and bases for social enterprises.
However, there were some challenges with the application. Vesely says the building didn鈥檛 meet new code requirements that were implemented since the development process began.
鈥淭he biggest one being they don鈥檛 want gas in the building and I have a gas boiler and a gas air exchanger. They want 100 per cent electricity with CO2 emissions,鈥� Vesely said.
In a statement, BC Housing said it recognizes the urgent need to create more affordable rental options for people in Mission. An independent review and scoring procedure was conducted to ensure Community Housing Fund decisions were made consistently and transparently.
鈥淭he More Than a Roof submission, although strong, did not rank high enough in the CHF scoring procedure and within the funding allocation. We encourage all proponents to request a debriefing with BC Housing to discuss their proposal and to see if there are other programs available to move the project forward,鈥� BC Housing said.
Vesely understands the strike against the application but thought the building鈥檚 close proximity to the finish line would be an advantage.
鈥淚 thought by far the fact that it鈥檚 ready for people to move in right away, would far outweigh the lack of meeting the current code,鈥� he said.
The Apex CEO says he鈥檚 trying desperately to get the building into the hands of a non-profit 鈥� preferably More Than A Roof 鈥� in the coming weeks. But if a non-profit can鈥檛 take over the property, he鈥檒l have to offer the units for rent at the market rate.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 sustain it at affordable. There鈥檚 no way with these interest rates 鈥� it鈥檚 unrealistic. But I have to do market,鈥� he said.
The next call for BC Housing funding under the Community Housing Fund is expected in late 2024 or early 2025.
鈥淚n between funding calls, proponents can also apply for project development funding to advance their projects and proposals,鈥� BC Housing said.
Council entered a housing agreement with the property in May 2021 that stipulates the units would be 100 per cent affordable and managed by one entity in the form of a property management company or an affordable housing provider.
鈥淟et me just say this is a gigantic opportunity missed if it doesn鈥檛 happen because it won鈥檛 be very long before the developer cannot make it fly,鈥� Mission Mayor Paul Horn said.
The mayor says the city previously had conversations with Premier David Eby and housing minister Ravi Kahlon about the project. If a non-profit isn鈥檛 attached soon, council will have to take a look at allowing the units to be available at market rate, according to Horn.
At Tuesday鈥檚 (April 2) meeting, council demonstrated an urge to apply political pressure to see the project come to fruition.
鈥淔or the province to turn down a purpose-built building that is ready to go in today鈥檚 dollars versus five-years-from-now dollars is absolutely asinine,鈥� Coun. Mark Davies said. 鈥淚t just staggers me and it leaves me wondering why. I mean, both the federal and provincial government are throwing billions of dollars into housing projects and this one is sitting here waiting for them to simply take the keys.鈥�
Horn says it鈥檚 difficult to understand how the province can say it鈥檚 advancing affordable housing while non-profits and developers face hurdles at the same time.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not very often that it is literally this obvious, but this one is,鈥� Horn said.
Going forward, Horn says the affordable housing project on 2nd Avenue is priority number one.
鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly difficult to imagine how we might encourage developers to work with us to develop housing projects of this nature when this particular person came forward with an absolutely incredible social conscience in the work that they did and at the end of the day, we鈥檙e getting nowhere,鈥� he said.
Previously, Vesely partnered with a non-profit to bring 70 units of affordable housing to Mission near the Cedar Valley Connector.
鈥淔rom that relationship, I thought, well, this is great. Why don鈥檛 we work together on trying to put this together for more affordable homes for the non-profit? So we designed that building and bought that lot with them in mind,鈥� Vesely said.
After the pandemic, the previous non-profit鈥檚 application was denied to receive funding to buy the 2nd Avenue property. Vesely moved forward, thinking another non-profit would get the funding to purchase the building.
鈥淭his is a need that needs to be done,鈥� Vesely said,
Vesely is still trying to get the building into a non-profit鈥檚 hands within the next month. However, he would be hesitant to take on another affordable housing project after the challenges with the current one.
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