More families, seniors and people living with disabilities now have affordable, energy-efficient homes in Kelowna with the opening of Capstone, adding 122 rental homes to the Apple Valley community.

“This is about providing people a better place to live,” said Christine Boyle, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs. “These new homes at Capstone will make life more affordable for people, and with our partners we are helping build a more sustainable, vibrant and cleaner future for our growing community.”

Capstone, at 2155 Mayer Rd., is the final building in the Apple Valley development. It’s a nine-storey building built out of mass timber, which has a lower carbon footprint than other traditional building methods. The energy-efficient building offers a mix of one- and two-bedroom homes for people with low or moderate incomes. Features include triple-glazed windows, LED lighting throughout, central heat-recovery ventilators and a highly efficient building envelope. These will help residents save on energy bills and reduce their environmental impact.

“Capstone is a shining example of how we can create homes that are both good for people and good for the planet,” said Harwinder Sandhu, MLA for Vernon-Lumby. “As Kelowna’s first mass-timber rental building of this scale, it marks an exciting step forward in providing sustainable, affordable housing for our growing community. This project reflects our government’s ongoing commitment to building more affordable, sustainable homes across our region, strengthening communities and supporting a greener future for everyone.”

The National Society of Hope operates Capstone and manages the three neighbouring buildings that make up the Apple Valley community.

“We were blessed to partner with all three levels of government to bring this much-needed affordable housing to our area,” said Ken Zeitner, executive director, National Society of Hope. “It is wonderful to see tenants already making Capstone their home and building a safe, secure community with their neighbours.”

These homes are part of a $19-billion housing investment by the B.C. government. Since 2017, the Province has more than 93,600 homes delivered or underway, including more than 2,250 homes in Kelowna.

Quotes:

Stephen Fuhr, MP for Kelowna and Secretary of State (Defence Procurement), on behalf of Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada –

“Our government is taking action to build more affordable homes in Kelowna and across Canada. The opening of the Capstone project shows what’s possible when all levels of government and non-profit organizations work together to deliver housing that meet the needs of our community. Through the National Housing Strategy, we’re rapidly scaling up the supply of safe, affordable, and sustainable homes that Canadians need.”

Tom Dyas, mayor of Kelowna –

“Addressing housing challenges requires action across all levels and all types of homes. This project reflects the progress that can be made when governments and community partners work together to deliver more diverse and affordable housing in Kelowna.”

Danielle Wensink, director, conservation and energy management, FortisBC –

“We are proud to be part of this meaningful project and support the development of affordable housing in Kelowna. This project shows how prioritizing energy efficiency from the start and leveraging both the gas and electricity systems can create comfortable spaces for residents while helping to lower energy use and associated emissions.”

Learn More:

To learn how B.C. is working to deliver more homes for people, visit: https://gov.bc.ca/homesforpeople

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

To learn how BC Housing is helping to build strong, inclusive communities, visit: https://www.bchousing.org/podcast

A backgrounder follows.