The official groundbreaking held at Little Mountain today marks the beginning of construction for the first new social housing building on the property.

The five-storey building will contain 53 one- and two-bedroom apartments and is expected to be complete in 2015. The four households remaining on site as well as former Little Mountain residents will have the first opportunity to move into the new homes.

The Little Mountain property in Vancouver, bounded by 33rd to 37th avenues between Main and Ontario streets, is being redeveloped into a mixed-use community. The original 224 social housing units will be replaced with 234 units of new social housing apartments. Proceeds from the sale of the property will be used to build additional social housing units in Vancouver and across British Columbia.

Quotes:

Rich Coleman, Minister of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas and Minister Responsible for Housing -

"Little Mountain has been a key piece of our housing strategy and I'm excited to see the project moving forward. It will provide more than 230 units of new affordable housing to individuals and families in need and it is helping to fund the development of more than 1,500 new units of supportive housing throughout the city."

Mayor Gregor Robertson, City of

"The City of Vancouver is committed to building a strong and inclusive community at Little Mountain, and this project is part of a plan that expedites social housing and allows remaining Little Mountain residents to stay on site. Partnerships like this one contribute to the building of that community and prevent homelessness by helping to meet the crucial need for new social housing in Vancouver."

Joo Kim Tiah, president & CEO, Holborn Properties -

"Holborn is proud to partner on this important social housing revitalization in Vancouver. With the first building underway, we can look to the future of Little Mountain as it re-emerges as a vibrant, urban mixed-use community."

Quick Facts:

• In 2007, the City and BC Housing signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the sale and redevelopment of Little Mountain. It is the first public housing site in Vancouver to be redeveloped under Housing Matters BC, the Province's Housing Strategy. This site was selected first because units were in need of major repairs.

• Holborn Properties was selected in 2008 as the development partner for the site.

• A city-led public consultation process began in 2009, leading to the approval of a Policy Statement from the City in June 2012, to guide the rezoning and redevelopment process.

• The B.C. government is investing all of the net proceeds from the sale of the Little Mountain site into social housing throughout the province.

• This includes the partnership with the City of Vancouver to develop more than 1,500 new housing units at 14 city-owned sites.

• To date, seven of these developments are completed; the remaining seven are under construction or in development. Three of those buildings, with almost 400 new housing units will be completed in 2013.

• 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 approximately $142.6 million to provide subsidized housing and rent supplements for more than 25,800 households in Vancouver.

Learn More:

To learn more about this project, visit: www.vancouverlittlemountain.com

Contacts:

Fergus McCann
BC Housing
778 452-6445

City of Vancouver
Corporate Communications
604 871-6336
media@vancouver.ca

Helen Yu/Sam Corea
Holborn Properties
604 601-2121