The Slocan Legion, the Slocan Valley Housing Society (SVHS) hosted an open house Dec. 11 to unveil its plans for an affordable housing development in the Village of Slocan.
It was a great turnout, SVHS chair Sally McKenzie told the Valley Voice, with almost 40 people in attendance including Village councillor Madeleine Perriere.
Boni Maddison Architects of Vancouver drafted the plans, which were exciting to share with the public, said McKenzie.
“We’ve got these great renderings, perspectives, elevations, and floor plans so people could get a sense of what it’ll look like,” she said. “[Boni Maddison] has worked on a lot of affordable housing in small communities. They’ve been quite responsive and we’ve been pleased with working with them.”
McKenzie said feedback from residents was great.
“Our priority was that it should be good looking and be something people in the Village can be proud of, but also something that would blend in with the general architecture of Slocan,” she said. “We didn’t want it to be an oddball.”
The development is slated for the lot between Hume and Harold Streets, across from W.E. Graham Community School and next to the tennis courts and skating rink.
It will feature 10 townhouse style units, accommodating a mix of families and seniors. One-, two-, and three-bedroom units will be available in two buildings – four in one and six in another – with rent set at a various affordability levels.
The Village began the project in 2019, conducting a feasibility study and applying for funding. It originally scouted the location at Giffin Avenue and Slocan Street but there was some community pushback at the time, said McKenzie.
“It was 2020 by that point… We couldn’t have community meetings,” she said. “[The Village] was due to rework its Official Community Plan so they put the development on the shelf for almost two years.”
This proved to be a wise move, she said. Rewriting the OCP gave the Village a chance to understand residents’ hopes and dreams.
“I think that really helped, because then people had a bigger conversation about what they wanted the Village to look like, where they wanted things to be, and how they wanted it to work,” said McKenzie. “Affordable housing was just one piece that people had considered in the overview, rather than being an isolated development.”
With the OCP reworked, the Village approached the Slocan Valley Housing Society to get the plan moving again.
“[The Village] has done a great job,” said McKenzie. “It’s just so supportive of affordable housing, really encouraging, and helpful in all that needed to be done with zoning and leasing.”
With funding from BC Housing, McKenzie said they hope to break ground in the spring and summer – but there’s still a lot of work to be done. Construction may take about two years before the units are ready for occupancy.
“Modern building is complex,” she said. “It’s a big project. It may not be big in some worlds, but compared to building a single house, it’s a big job.”
Established in 1998, this is the society’s first foray into family housing, with its usual focus on seniors. However, it recently took over management of the Osprey Residence in New Denver. The New Denver and Area Housing Society spearheaded the project, but was less keen on operating it, said McKenzie; SVHS took up the torch.
The society also manages Passmore Lodge and Slocan City Suites, both supporting ages 55-plus tenancy.
