With the help of additional funding through the Province’s 10-year housing plan, 60 new affordable rental homes are under construction in Kamloops.

The housing is a result of a partnership between the Province, the City of Kamloops and the John Howard Society of the Thompson Region (JHSTR).

“Our government is ensuring people can live and stay in their communities, close to family and where they work. We’re doing this by providing the funding that projects like this actually need to be affordable for people,” said Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “These homes will help support healthy neighbourhoods by providing a range of accessible, affordable housing for a diverse group of people with mixed incomes and will benefit the community for years to come.”

Located at 445 5th Ave., the four-storey, wood-frame building will provide 60 affordable homes for individuals, families, seniors and people with disabilities, including people living with mental-health challenges. The project will offer accessible studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes with support services. Monthly rents will range from approximately $710 for a studio, $805 for a one-bedroom and $920 for a two-bedroom unit. This is $300 a month less than they would have been without the additional provincial investment.

“The City of Kamloops is excited to see construction starting on this project, which will support residents with a variety of needs,” said Dieter Dudy, deputy mayor, City of Kamloops. “The city and our partners have been working hard to increase the supply of affordable housing in our community and it’s great to be seeing the results of those efforts.”

The affordable units will be managed by JHSTR, a local non-profit with experience managing affordable rental housing and success working with people living with mental-health issues.

“The John Howard Society has been operating housing safely and successfully with a well-experienced housing team,” said Lindsay Lord, CEO, JHSTR. “The agency staff and board of directors are pleased to be working alongside both the Province and the city, continuing to build upon the community of Kamloops’ affordable-housing continuum.”

This project is part of an memorandum of understanding commitment between the City of Kamloops and BC Housing to build more than 100 units of affordable housing for people with low to moderate incomes.

Residents are expected to move into the building in early 2022.

Delivering affordable housing is a shared priority between government and the BC Green Party caucus and is part of the Confidence and Supply Agreement.

Quick Facts:

• The Province is investing approximately $10 million towards this project. This includes $5 million from the Deepening Affordability fund in June 2020, so that the rents would be affordable for people in Kamloops.
• The City of Kamloops provided the land for the project, valued at approximately $1.2 million and $145,000 in municipal waivers.
• Including these homes, the Province has over 1,000 new homes complete or underway in Kamloops:
  • 290 homes for low to moderate income earners
  • 155 homes for people experiencing homelessness
  • 44 homes for women and their children leaving violence
  • 533 student housing beds

Learn More:

A map showing the location of all provincially funded housing projects announced in B.C. is available online: https://www.bchousing.org/homes-for-BC

To learn about the steps the Province is taking to tackle the housing crisis and deliver affordable homes for British Columbians, visit: https://workingforyou.gov.bc.ca/

A backgrounder follows.