New affordable homes will soon be available for people with moderate and low incomes, seniors and families in Vancouver, with construction underway on 82 rental homes in Mount Pleasant.

“This new development will add much-needed affordable rental homes in the Vancouver-Mount Pleasant neighbourhood for seniors, families and individuals with accessibility needs,” said Melanie Mark, MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant. “Every time we create more housing, we improve people’s lives. Through this investment, people will be able to live in the community where they have connections, close to family and friends, while providing greater access to services they rely on.”

Located at 349 East 6th Ave., the 12-storey project will have studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom homes. All the homes will either be accessible or feature adaptable designs, making this building an option for aging seniors and people living with disabilities. The building will feature a range of amenities, including family play spaces, rooftop urban agriculture, shared community gathering areas and bicycle storage.

The project is a partnership between the Province, through BC Housing, Brightside Community Homes Foundation and Wall Financial Corporation. Brightside will operate the new homes, which are scheduled to open in fall 2024.

“This is an important project for Brightside as the new building will support the needs of current and future residents, and will help add to the affordability in Mount Pleasant for decades to come,” said William Azaroff, CEO, Brightside. “The partnership between Brightside Community Homes Foundation, BC Housing and Wall Financial Corporation represents a meaningful and positive way forward in the creation of new affordable rental homes for families, seniors and people with disabilities. We are excited to see construction begin and look forward to welcoming residents to their new homes and seeing the community grow.”

The new 82 homes will replace Brightside’s 36-unit seniors housing building at 325 East 6th Ave., which lacks accessibility. Once complete, tenants will be able to move from their homes at 325 East 6th Ave. to the new housing and will continue paying rent based on income.

Half of the units will have rents geared to income, where rent is 30% of the household’s income. Some units will be rented to those with very low incomes. Others will be at or below market rent.

“Wall is pleased to be working with Brightside and BC Housing on this unique and collaborative model of effectively delivering affordable seniors’ housing in Vancouver,” said Bruno Wall, president, Wall Financial Corporation. “This partnership builds on previous affordable housing projects developed by Wall and BC Housing.”

This project is part of B.C.’s 10-year, $7-billion housing plan. Since 2017, the Province has funded more than 32,000 affordable new homes that have been completed or are underway for people in B.C., including nearly 7,600 homes in Vancouver.

Quick Facts:

• The Province is contributing approximately $58.5 million in construction financing toward the development of 349 East 6th Ave, including:
  • approximately $58 million to Wall Financial Corporation; and
  • $423,000 to Brightside Community Homes Foundation.
• Once construction of the project is complete, the Province will provide an $8.9-million grant from the Building BC: Community Housing Fund to Brightside toward the purchase of the new building from Wall Financial. The Province will also provide approximately $576,000 in annual operating funding.
• After Brightside has purchased the new building, Wall Financial will purchase 325 East 6th Ave. from the non-profit for redevelopment as market strata housing. Equity from the sale will be applied to Brightside’s purchase of 349 East 6th Ave.

Learn More:

A map showing the location of all announced provincially funded housing projects 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/