“There’s never enough” – that’s the first rule of non-market housing. Advocates for affordable housing in a tight market like ours have no difficulty making that case: the evidence is abundantly apparent, whether in the media or on the streets.
So it’s easy to lose perspective. In fact, the list below (circulated by the Mayor’s office) came as a bit of a surprise to me. I hadn’t realized there had been any completed projects this year, nor that there were that many units under construction.
Perhaps because Councils unanimously support these initiatives (with only a couple of exceptions I can think of in 15 years on Council) and the Left is reluctant to give the Right any credit at all, gains are discounted and difficiencies magnified.
It does look as though most of the housing to come will be the maintenance of existing SROs, upgraded and secured and concentrated in the Downtown East Side and Downtown South. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to make much difference, either in politics or perception. And in fact, I wonder if it really makes a difference to homelessness. The truly dysfunctional rarely find a place in these government-funded projects, since they’re often too disruptive to those who wish to maintain a stable environment.
Nonetheless, whether sufficient or not, it’s an improvement. And that’s always worth acknowledging.
Social Housing Projects Completed in 2007:
| Project | Address | New Units | Converted Units |
| Grace Mansion | 596 East Hastings | 85 units | |
| Helping Spirit Lodge | 1475 Kingsway | 36 units | |
| Southview Heights | 3131 East 58th | 57 units | |
| Triage on Fraser | 5616 Fraser St. | 30 units | |
| Jackson Ave. Hsg. Co-op | 230 Jackson Ave. | 23 units | |
| The Vivian | 512 Powell St. | 24 units | |
| Total | 6 projects/255 units | 57 units | 198 units |
Social Housing Projects Under Construction:
| Kindred Place | 1321 Richards St. | 87 units | |
| Beulah Gardens II | 3355 East 5th | 89 units | |
| St Vincents | 4875 Heather | 60 units | |
| Triage on Hastings | 65 East Hastings | 92 units | |
| Icelandic Residence | 2020 Harrison Dr. | 77 units | |
| Woodwards Singles | 131 W. Hastings | 125 units | |
| Woodwards Families | 122 W. Hastings | 75 units | |
| Passlin Hotel | 768 Richards St. | 46 units | |
| Pennsylvania Hotel | 412 Carrall St. | 44 units | |
| Total | 9 Projects/695 units | 651 units | 44 units |
Social Housing Projects Funded and in Development:
| Portland on Main | 980 Main St. | 80 units | |
| Small Suite Demonstration | 337 West Pender | 120 units | |
| Olympic Village, Parcel 2 | 151 West First Ave. | 88 units | |
| Olympic Village, Parcel 5 | 85 West First Ave. | 99 units | |
| Olympic Village, Parcel 9 | 1685 Ontario St. | 69 units | |
| Union Gospel Mission | 601 East Hastings | 133 beds, rooms and units | |
| Carl Rooms | 335 Princess Ave. | 47 rooms | |
| Marble Arch Hotel | 518 Richards St. | 145 rooms | |
| Orange Hall | 329/41 Gore Ave. | 27 units | |
| Orwell Hotel | 456 East Hastings | 55 rooms | |
| Park Hotel | 429/33 West Pender | 56 rooms | |
| Molson/Roosevelt Hotel | 166 East Hastings | 45 rooms | |
| Savoy Hotel | 258/60 East Hastings | 28 rooms | |
| St. Helens Hotel | 1161 Granville St. | 98 rooms | |
| The Rice Block | 404 Hawks Ave. | 44 rooms | |
| Walton Hotel | 261/5 East Hastings | 51 rooms | |
| Lu’ma/Aboriginal Mothers | 2019 Dundas St. | 10 units | |
| Trio | Downtown Eastside | 30 units | |
| Circle of Eagles | 1470 East Broadway | 17 rooms | |
| Lu’ma/Aboriginal Families | Broadway/Nanaimo | 20 units | |
| Total | 20 Projects/1262 beds, rooms, units | 649 units | 613 rooms |
| Grand Total | 35 Projects/ 2212 beds, rooms, units | 1357 units | 855 rooms |
It is excellent to see that list posted. I’d love to see a similar summary of middle-market housing that’s been secured…. I know there’s #1 Kingsway which will be rentals owned by the city, what else is there. I wonder?
Does that take into account the number of non-market housing that was lost in the past year? I remember hearing a lot of stories about SROs being shut down and converted into market housing.
“Up to 600 Vancouver SRO rooms were lost in the past year, either to rent increases or redevelopment-oriented evictions, according to a survey by the Carnegie Community Action Project.” (Source The Tyee )