$5.1 Million for Affordable Housing in Prince George
Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris during today’s affordable housing announcement at Elizabeth Fry Place in Prince George – photos 250News
Prince George, B.C. – It was all smiles at Elizabeth Fry Place in Prince George this morning.
This as MLAs Shirley Bond and Mike Morris were on hand to announce $5.1 million in affordable housing funding.
The dollars will bring in over 60 new affordable homes for low-to-moderate-income families and seniors at two new housing developments.
$3.5 million will go to the Aboriginal Housing Society’s new project at 1811 Spruce Street and provide for up to 27 new rental homes for low-income seniors with a priority for Elders of Aboriginal ancestry.
Another $1.6 million will provide for up to 35 new affordable new homes at the Prince George and District Elizabeth Fry Housing Society’s housing project at 2744 and 2820-2880 on 15th Ave.
The property is located directly behind Studio 2880 – a strip of land that runs parallel to the back of the baseball diamond and where an old warehouse is currently located.
“We’re thrilled. We’re excited, it’s been a long time coming and it’s such an opportunity for the families that currently live in Prince George,” said Kathi Heim, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Housing Society. “To have some safe, affordable housing that will be below the market rent and give them opportunities to move forward.”
“It’s another great example of what we’re doing with housing right across the province,” added Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris. “But there’s a continual need and B.C. is embarking on one of the most aggressive housing projects that any government in Canada has ever embarked on before with half a billion dollars. And this is just a beginning for Prince George.”
He expects shovels will be in the ground by next spring.
“As soon as the ground is thawed out. There’s a number of steps, we sort of hit it at the right time here because there’s still a lot of administrative steps that we need to do and they can do this over the winter when the ground’s still frozen.”
The City of Prince George’s commitment to the plan is land and tax incentives and Mayor Lyn Hall said he couldn’t be happier.
“It’s a great partnership and an announcement. One of our top priorities was to create more housing opportunities for individuals – and that’s from seniors to students – and this announcement today is going to provide a big part of that goal.”
But he said there’s still work to be done.
“There’s still a need for more affordable and subsidized seniors housing and for more housing opportunities for students,” he said. “Students who want to come to UNBC or CNC.”
Comments
My goodness, all of these affordable housing funding announcements makes this Christy Clark Liberal / Conservative Government appear more left leaning than the NDP. Still, I have legitimate questions and concerns regarding affordable housing funding allocation with respect to locations and amounts.
Why does Quesnel, a city seven (7) times smaller than Prince George, and likely having seven (7) times less people in needs of affordable housing, gets $6.7 Million in funding compared to Prince George, where $5.1 Million is being allocated?
Can we get a reference to a website from this government that shows the statistical, and evidentiary, need for affordable housing which justifies the location and varying amounts of affordable housing funding? It would be nice so we can see how “needs” are being directly addressed, with areas / regions of greatest need getting the larger allocations of affordable housing funding.
All in all, I agree that there needs to be an investment in affordable housing, however, as Nathan Cullen previously states; “addressing affordable housing is only one factor in reducing poverty rates in BC.” To come up with a cohesive and functional “strategy” to address homelessness and poverty in this province requires the development of a “Poverty Reduction Plan”… just saying.
July 2012
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – Seniors in Prince George now have increased access to affordable housing with the opening of two new buildings that provide 66 apartments of affordable seniors’ housing funded by the governments of Canada and British Columbia, along with community partners.
“Our government was pleased to partner with the Government of Canada to provide approximately $10 million to support the creation of Elizabeth Fry Place and Hart Haven. This partnership allowed the creation of 66 new apartments that are both affordable and accessible to seniors and persons with disabilities in Prince George,” said Shirley Bond, Minister of Justice and Attorney General and MLA for Prince George-Valemount.
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PRINCE GEORGE, B.C., September 19, 2014 — The Governments of Canada and British Columbia, along with community partners, officially opened the recently renovated Victoria Towers today, providing 91 new affordable apartments for low to moderate income individuals, seniors, families and persons with disabilities in Prince George.
Located at 1245 20th Ave., the 12-storey building is the largest affordable housing development in Prince George. Victoria Towers is directly managed by BC Housing.
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If I get time this afternoon will do a little digging about partnerships with the government and local FN and Metis groups along with Elizabeth Fry over the last few years.
Quesnel has been left behind in the past, and they are trying to catch up to the social requirements of providing affordable housing.
Providing affordable housing is a requirement? Since when? I thought we did it because that’s what we do in a pseudo-socialist society like ours? We get that warm fuzzy feeling from helping those in need because we want to help, not because we have to?
It’s sure nice to see some tax dollars being spent in the north!
Don’t get to excited for we have not seen any money yet. Its an announcement and there is still more work to be done.
I would have to assume, that the city is getting a little bit of money for this piece of property as well, which will likely be used to fund the new home for Studio 2880 in the old cop shop.
I wonder where they are actually going to build this. The “lane” to the north of 2880 is actually 14th Avenue. They need to improve that and make it the primary access.
The land is zoned P at the moment and supposedly has been turned over to the City by the Province to be used for the arts.
2820 is part of the 2880 property. 2744 is a separate property to the east of 2880 with nothing but trees on it.
When will we see a plan? Did the community arts council know about this?
Isn’t it amazing that after 3 1/2 years of our wonderful government not having any money to spend, and 1/2 year before an election there all of sudden happens to be tons of money that that has miraculously appeared out of no where.
Isn’t this what is referred to a vote buying?
Whose votes will they buy?
And who will not be voting for them because they are spending too much money in their mind?
In would appear so wouldn’t it bcracer. So how many of these newly announced 2,900 units are actually previously announced and built affordable housing units? Apparently the BC Liberal Government is exaggerating the numbers by including previously announced and even built and lived in units. Can’t say as I blame them, with 2,900 units not even being sufficient to address the housing crisis in the lower mainland, let alone the entire province of BC.
“These announced investments are part of $855 million in spending that was previously announced, an amount that Clark called on Tuesday the “largest single-year investment in affordable housing that any government in the history of (Canada) has ever made.” But a closer look at the numbers provided by the housing ministry shows nearly one in 10 of the announced units are not new builds. As well, roughly one third of all units unveiled during Tuesday’s media event had previously been announced by the province.” “Meanwhile, the number of units announced by Clark is not large enough to cover the housing needs of B.C.’s largest city alone, much less the entire province.”
ht tp://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-affordable-housing-projects-are-not-all-new
Go ahead sparrow, it’s seems to be your turn.
Just asking is any of this Senior Housing going to be for the Seniors that have worked hard of their lives and now need help?? or do you have to be low Income?? People seem to forget about the working poor.
There are means tests to get into subsidized housing.
November 26th the Citizen had a write up about a fellow who managed to get into Government Housing ,he said he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and struggles with addiction and says marijuana and methamphetamine keeps him calm. When you have schizophrenia DRUGS are the worst thing you should take, If you stay on the proper medication you can live a normal life. It showed a picture of his room it looked like a pack rat was living in the room it was a mess. He said he was left with $500 to live on some goes to cigarettes and drugs. Something is wrong with this picture. The taxpayers are footing the bill this should not be going on.
Ladeda an election on the horizon. No money for the last few years but now? They must have won the lotto… wait a minute…………
I watched this evening’s CTV Vancouver 6:00 pm news broadcast. One of the news stories was about Kelowna’s new bylaw prohibiting sleeping on a sidewalk.
Some of the homeless were being interviewed and I found myself wondering how they had money for piercings, tattoos and cigarettes?
I can certainly think of a few things far more important than piercings, tattoos, cigarettes, booze, drugs, purple hair, etc.!
Do you really think they get piercings as a parlour set up for that? Same with tattoos.
Cigarettes? they pick them up from where others toss them and roll new ones. They beg for them.
Where there is a will, there is a way. One learns to adapt and “shop” for bargains the same as those with more money do on Black Fridays.
Horrors of horrors, some even resort to shop lifting.
Those who actually lived through a war in their home country learn to do it just as well to get food, cigarettes, etc. Immediately after the war trains would be packed with people riding while hanging on outside of the cars to get them to the nearest farms where the currency was cigarettes.
So naive…..
gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/hamsterzug-1945-news-photo/545923011#hamsterzug-1945-picture-id545923011
A picture is worth a thousand words ….. people can be very resilient if their lives depend on it.
gopg2015, the smokes looked nothing like butts picked off the ground or roll-your-owns! And the tattoos certainly didn’t look like they were done with a home tattoo kit either!
So, are you saying that welfare money is never spent on smokes, tattoos, booze, drugs and other things that shouldn’t take priority? Next time that you stop by the food bank to make a donation, check out the lineup of people waiting for a food hamper while smoking and chatting on their smart phones.
So naïve…..
Thanks for the history lesson about those who lived through a war in their home country, and how after the war trains would be packed with people riding while hanging on outside, blah, blah, blah!
Speaking from experience, or speaking from google again?
Speaking from the experience of my mother who was 21 in 1945 and is still alive to tell me the experiences today and I dutifully record them.
Google does not count as experience for me. If I had those experiences I would have to be over 90.
What experiences have your parents had which shape your life today? What makes you so bitter?
“The City of Prince George’s commitment to the plan is land and tax incentives and Mayor Lyn Hall said he couldn’t be happier.”
I think they need some explanation to the community. Many who are familiar with this property and discussions in the past were under the impression that the property would be sold and the proceeds used towards the cost of relocation the Community Arts Council to another location. The old Police Station was one possibility that has been shared with the public on several occasions.
This announcement is incomplete.
cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.3074402/medicine-hat-becomes-the-first-city-in-canada-to-eliminate-homelessness-1.3074742
Thursday May 14, 2015
Medicine Hat becomes the first city in Canada to eliminate homelessness
from the article ———————–
No one in the city spends more than 10 days in an emergency shelter or on the streets. If you’ve got no place to go, they’ll simply provide you with housing.
“We’re pretty much able to meet that standard today. Even quicker, actually, sometimes,” Mayor Ted Clugston tells As It Happens host Carol Off.
Clugston admits that when the project began in 2009, when he was an alderman, he was an active opponent of the plan.
“I even said some dumb things like, ‘Why should they have granite countertops when I don’t,'” he says. “However, I’ve come around to realize that this makes financial sense.”
Clugston says that it costs about $20,000 a year to house someone. If they’re on the street, it can cost up to $100,000 a year.
“This is the cheapest and the most humane way to treat people,” he says
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simple, eh Hart Guy
Oh, and I did not even have to travel to Prince Albert and live there for a few weeks to observe it myself. Unlike you and Trump, I actually trusted the media and the quotes from the Mayor.
Perhaps you want to double check the report and call the Mayor, then report back to us. Hopefully we will believe your comments to us.
Sorry, that was Medicine Hat …..
BC Supreme Court rules homeless have right to public spaces
October 2015
The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled in favour of a group of homeless people challenging municipal bylaws that displace them from public spaces.
Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson found that City of Abbotsford bylaws prohibiting homeless people from sleeping in public places violate Section 7 of the Charter, which protects individuals’ safety and security of person.
He also denied the City’s request seeking a permanent ban on homeless camping.
Chilliwack homeless can now sleep in city parks
July 27, 2016
from the article ———————
A BC Supreme Court decision has prompted the City of Chilliwack to amend its parks bylaw to allow homeless people to camp in municipal parks.
Camping in public parks has not been an issue locally, but city council decided to proactively make the change to the bylaw that forbade overnight camping because the previous bylaw was unconstitutional.
The amended bylaw does come with restrictions that disallows setting up structures during the day or within five metres of pathways, playgrounds, ponds and other park amenities.
Mayor Sharon Gaetz sat down with the Times Wednesday to address the issue city crews face picking up garbage, condoms, fecal matter and 100 needles a week from public areas in and around the 15 identified homeless encampments in the city. Griffin Security apparently picks up 300 needles a week.
“It is a bit of a tsunami on the issue of homelessness in the Lower Mainland,” she said.
The broader problem is that a provincial matter is being downloaded to municipalities, Gaetz added, urging residents to write to their local MLAs to spur action to fund social housing.
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Is there a connection between the BC supreme court ruling of 2015 and the current call to more low income housing?
I think its a good investment. Provide affordable housing and people will generally stay out of trouble they would get into on the streets. At less than $100,000 a year per unit, paid back through rent… over the life of a unit it only has to keep one person out of jail for a year to pay for the public investment.
It could be the difference between a kid that is raised in a ‘hood’ type neighborhood with no chance for a life outside of crime; as opposed to a kid that is brought up in a stable housing environment he calls home in a safe neighborhood environment.
I just hope the emphasis is on housing for families first and foremost. Especially in the North. Most of these communities have very run down housing stock for low income families. Most haven’t had low income housing investments in decades.
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