The long road to affordable housing in West Van
Kiwanis Village West took 11 years to zone, fund and build. Photo: Dana Mulhern
Yay! The Kiwanis West Village project is now welcoming people to live in West Van in affordable rental homes at seventy-five percent of market rates. Woot! Well, that was a bit of a long ride for anyone involved. Here’s a closer look to understand how social housing projects like these are built over decades, rather than the typical four to five years, as would a market rental project.
We keep hearing about the importance of building ‘social housing’, ‘affordable housing’, and ‘below-market’ housing. All of these terms are basically the same. The idea is that the cost to rent this type of home is subsidized by all of us. To make this happen four things need to take place:
A suitable piece of land for a building form that makes sense (usually apartments)
Public acceptance in the form of zoning approval
A funding source for construction (usually the provincial or federal government or both)
A group that knows how to run construction projects, maintain buildings in the long term and provide programming support if applicable (usually a non-profit housing society)
It’s not an easy process at the best of times, even if all the stars align, but by far the most lengthy part for Kiwanis Village West was gaining public acceptance in the form of zoning approval.
In 2014, the District of West Vancouver bought the land at 2195 Gordon Avenue from Vancouver Coastal Health in 2014 for $16.4 million with proceeds from the sale of the former West Vancouver Police station on Marine Drive at 13th, which subsequently became the Ambleside Grosvenor residential building.
The Grosvenor Ambleside building, formerly the site of the old West Van police station. Photo: Google Earth
In 2019, after public consultation, council voted to advance plans for two six-storey, wood-framed rental buildings with 167 units offered at an average of 70 per cent of market rates, plus an eight-storey, 50-unit concrete strata building and 3,000-square-foot adult daycare for seniors, such as those with dementia, needing specialized care during the daytime.
However, the rezoning to accommodate the project took a further three years due to public debate over whether it would be better to sell the land to a private developer and buy elsewhere, thereby benefiting the municipal purse, or to lease the land to a non-profit that would take on project management.
In 2022, eight years after the land was initially purchased and earmarked for affordable housing, council agreed to lease the northern portion of the site to Kiwanis for $1 per year.
The non-profit has now built 156 rental homes, which will be priced at seventy-five percent of market rates for households making median salaries.
The affordable homes are reserved for individuals with connections to West Van, including those who live, work, or have children in school there. Priority access will be for police, firefighters, school staff and municipal workers. https://kiwanisnorthshorehousing.org/village-west/
Quick Facts
Timeline: 2014-2025 = 11 years
Facility: 156 rental homes and an adult daycare facility run by Vancouver Coastal Health
Affordability: 75% below market rentals
Cost: $94 million
Move-in date: Dec 2025
Funding sources:
District of West Vancouver: $16.4 million for the land, now leased for $1/year to Kiwanis for 60 years. Development cost waivers of $1.4 million
The BC Provincial government $55.8 million in low-interest financing, which will be repaid with interest by Kiwanis
Kiwanis North Shore Housing Society is providing approximately $15.8 million in equity for the project.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, $1.4 million through the Canada-British Columbia Bilateral Agreement under the National Housing Strategy to preserve affordability for residents.
Lions Gate Hospital Foundation is providing $3.6 million to fund the Vancouver Coastal Health adult day program
Please sign up for our mailing list if this article resonates with you and your values. We're building a group of like-minded people who want to see the vision outlined on these pages.
