Seniors on the North Shore now have increased access to affordable housing with the official opening of John Yeomans' Place, a redevelopment providing 76 below-market rental apartments in the City of North Vancouver.

John Yeomans' Place, located at 245 East 3rd St. in North Vancouver, includes 22 studio apartments and 54 one-bedroom apartments. ANAVETS owns and operates the building.

John Yeomans' Place is a partnership between the government of B.C., City of North Vancouver, Intracorp and the ANAVETS Senior Citizens' Housing Society.

• The government of B.C. provided construction financing of over $12.8 million.

• ANAVETS provided the land valued at $3.47 million.

• Intracorp provided construction services for the redevelopment of the seniors' building.

• The City of North Vancouver provided a density bonus and waived $211,000 in development cost charges.

Tenants living at John Yeomans' Place can also benefit from the government of B.C.'s Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER) program, which provides monthly rent subsidies for eligible B.C. residents who are age 60 or over and who pay rent for their homes.

The site previously contained three seniors' housing buildings. One building was demolished for the redevelopment site. The two other buildings were demolished after John Yeomans' Place was completed to make way for Intracorp's market housing development. Now that John Yeomans' Place is complete, ANAVETS has transferred the two neighbouring parcels of land at 225 and 235 East 3rd St. to Intracorp at an approximate value of $9.3 million. The proceeds of the land transfer have been applied towards the construction financing.

Quotes:

Hon. Naomi Yamamoto, Minister of State for Small Business and MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale -

"Our government is proud to be a part of this partnership that has resulted in a new building for seniors of this community and a future housing development for North Shore residents. Tenants living in this building also receive rent subsidies through our government's SAFER program making their rents more affordable."

Mayor Darrell Mussatto, City of North Vancouver -

"Congratulations to the ANAVETS society for achieving their goal of a new building for senior citizens living in the City of North Vancouver. The city was pleased to be a partner in this project through an OCP amendment for building height, a rezoning with a density bonus and density transfer, parking relaxations and waived development cost charges, which reduced capital costs. Together we have achieved 76 new and environmentally sustainable rental units where aging housing once stood."

Don Forsgren, president, Intracorp -

"Our innovative partnership with ANAVETS Senior Citizens' Housing Society to redevelop their site in exchange for a transferred land deal has worked out to be fruitful for all parties involved. Now that the seniors' building is complete, we are moving forward to further revitalize this site by building 104 new condominium homes for North Shore residents."

Mary McLeod, executive administrator, ANAVETS Senior Citizens' Housing Society -

"We have been operating seniors housing in North Vancouver for over 40 years, and with this new building, we are extending our provision of affordable housing solutions for North Shore seniors. We would like to thank all partners for their part in this project."

Quick Facts:

• The government of B.C., through BC Housing, provides SAFER subsidies to more than 15,000 senior households provincewide, renting apartments in the private market, including singles, couples and people sharing a unit.

• Since 2001, the B.C. government has invested $3.2 billion to provide affordable housing for low-income individuals, seniors and families. This year, more than 97,000 B.C. households will benefit from provincial social housing programs and services.

• In 2011-12, the B.C. government invested over $9 million to provide subsidized housing and rent supplements for more than 2,500 North Vancouver households.

• For more than 30 years, Intracorp has developed highly successful residential communities throughout southern B.C.

Learn More:

For information on provincial housing programs: www.bchousing.org

For more information about the SAFER program: www.bchousing.org/Options/Rental_market/SAFER

To learn more about Intracorp, please visit: www.intracorp.ca

Media Contact:

Fergus McCann
BC Housing
778 452-6445