1451 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Press release from the province. Take note of the rental costs here, 52 units of 1BR suites, in Comox, rented below-market by the province at $1,400 to $1,450:

 

Seniors and people living with disabilities in Comox are moving into 52 new affordable and accessible rental homes with the opening of Cypress Gardens.

 

 

“The north Island is not immune to the housing crisis and Cypress Gardens will give seniors and people who need accessible housing in the Comox Valley a safe and affordable place to live and age in place,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing. “Our government shares the community’s excitement in seeing the building open and will continue to work with our partners to support the housing needs for seniors and people living with disabilities throughout B.C.”

 

Located at 1582 Balmoral Ave., the new three-storey wood-frame building is owned and operated by the Comox Valley Affordable Housing Society (CVAHS). The 52 one-bedroom units are for seniors 60 and older, and people of all ages living with disabilities. The building replaces a 16-unit townhouse complex owned by CVAHS, which was reaching the end of its lifespan, and more than triples the number of affordable housing units on the site and enhances the neighbourhood.

 

“We are taking action to make sure people can stay in the communities where they have connections and feel safe and comfortable,” said Ronna-Rae Leonard, MLA for Courtenay-Comox. “Thank you to the Comox Valley Affordable Housing Society for their work to improve the quality of life for seniors and people living with disabilities. I look forward to seeing the difference these new innovative homes will make in our community for years to come.”

 

Cypress Gardens was carefully designed to meet the needs of people with various disabilities that might affect mobility, vision and hearing. Twelve of the units are wheelchair accessible. The remaining units are adaptable, meaning they have been designed to easily accommodate future renovations to improve accessibility if the tenant’s needs change. The building has earned a certified gold rating under the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC) program.
“This building shows that with a bit of pre-planning, affordable housing can be made accessible to everyone,” said Ann Janssen, executive director, CVAHS. “By making housing accessible, we can enable people to thrive, making a difference in the lives of those with disabilities and seniors who wish to age in place.”

 

The building features a large community room, an on-site office and a laundry facility on each floor. It is located close to downtown Comox, providing easy access to nearby shopping, medical care and recreational facilities.

 

“Congratulations to the Comox Valley Affordable Housing Society for their RHF Accessibility Certified Gold achievement at Cypress Gardens,” said Brad McCannell, vice-president of Access and Inclusion, Rick Hansen Foundation. “This project demonstrates the kind of leadership needed to ensure our communities can accommodate people of all ages, incomes and abilities. An RHFAC gold environment delivers the aging-in-place solutions needed to support residents now and in the future.”

 

Rent for half the units will be geared to income, where rent is 30% of the tenant’s income. Some of the units will be rented to households with very low incomes, such as those receiving income or disability assistance, or a basic senior’s pension. Others will be rented at affordable market rates, ranging from $1,400 to $1,450 per month.

 

“We are delighted about the opening of Cypress Gardens,” said Nicole Minions, mayor of Comox. “We know the residents were eagerly anticipating completion and we warmly welcome them into their new homes. Its design, considerate of diverse abilities, proudly fosters an inclusive living space in our community.”

 

This project is part of a $19-billion housing investment by the B.C. government. Since 2017, the Province has more than 77,000 homes delivered or underway, including more than 800 in the Comox Valley.

[Mike K.]

From the province:

Renters and landlords in B.C. are seeing faster and more efficient residential tenancy dispute resolutions thanks to government’s recent service improvements.

“Nothing is more frustrating for renters and landlords than when the relationship breaks down. It is vitally important that they get clear resolutions faster,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing. “That’s why we have made significant investments to improve wait times. We have made great strides over this past year to address these issues with exceptional results. The actions we are taking will only continue to speed up service and increase user clarity as we work towards ensuring that renters and landlords can easily access the services they need.”

Dispute resolution services at the Province’s Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) have substantially improved in several ways over the last year, including:

a 48% reduction in all tenancy dispute hearing wait times, including down to nine weeks for a standard hearing from about 16 weeks a year ago;
dispute resolution application processing times take, on average, about 1.4 days compared to nearly 10 days in November 2022;
the average wait time for service by phone is now less than seven minutes compared to more than 17 minutes last November; and
response times to general emails now take an average of one business day.
These improvements have occurred despite increases in both dispute applications and inquiries. The RTB saw a 10% increase in applications in 2023, averaging 2,005 applications per month, compared to an average of 1,811 per month in 2022.

“Going through a residential tenancy dispute process should be as easy, fast and hassle-free as possible, especially as this is already a stressful situation for tenants who simply want their homes to be safe, secure and stable,” said Spencer Chandra Herbert, premier’s liaison for renters. “These improvements to processes and faster service are a great step in the right direction as we work to better support B.C. tenants in ensuring they have the dependable homes they need and deserve.”

The improved services are the result of approximately $15.6 million in additional funding, a 40% budget increase, the Province committed to the RTB in December 2022 to speed up and strengthen residential tenancy dispute resolution. The budget increase allowed the RTB to create nearly 50 full-time staff positions, including a doubling of the size of the Compliance and Enforcement Unit. The expanded capacity has allowed the unit to intervene more quickly to resolve issues that affect the livelihood of tenants and landlords in cases where serious and repeated violations of the Residential Tenancy Act occur.

“Timely access to justice at the Residential Tenancy Branch is critical for both landlords and tenants,” said David Hutniak, CEO, LandlordBC. “While there’s more work to be done, members have been telling us that they are seeing promising improvements to wait times. LandlordBC looks forward to continuing to collaborate with the branch to build upon these early encouraging results.”

Alongside improvements to wait times, the RTB has also launched updated web content as part of the Province’s continued commitment to make the branch’s services and information more accessible to tenants and landlords. The new website, which launched Dec. 7, was designed by asking users what was and was not working. With this feedback, the Province created user-focused and easier-to-navigate web content that supports efficient access to information and dispute-resolution services for tenants and landlords.

This updated web content adds to the RTB’s expanding toolkit of accessibility services, such as the recent launch of real-time interpretation for branch services in more than 200 languages. From April to October 2023, interpreter services were accessed in 134 calls and 97 hearings, spanning from American Sign Language to 14 other languages, including Arabic, French, Farsi, Hindi and Cantonese. The demand for these immediate and scheduled interpreter services has risen consistently since the launch of the service in April.

The RTB will continue to revitalize its tenancy dispute and investigation processes by improving service accessibility and increasing procedural efficiency. The work is part of the Province’s $19-billion housing investment. Since 2017, the Province has more than 77,000 homes that have been delivered or are underway.

[Victoria Watcher]

It should never take more than 1 month.  And where full non-payment is or has occurred, those cases should be expedited.

[Citified.ca]

Downtown Victoria will add 130 rental apartments in 2024, while condo dearth shows no sign of easing

https://victoria.cit...no-sign-easing/

[spanky123]

^ Excellent. Population is growing 700 per month!

[Matt R.]

Sorry, no new condos downtown in 25 or 26? Really?

[Ismo07]

Sorry, no new condos downtown in 25 or 26? Really?

 

Just added Mod, I guess that was last year.  How far from the Chard development on Douglas at Chatham?

[Mike K.]

Unlikely to be completed until 2027, is my guess.

[Ismo07]

What about across the bridge in Esquimalt East...  Are those all done for 2023 or are they coming online this year?

 

So how many came online in 2023?  Yeah Dockside Green is coming this year too...  Both towers...

Edited by Ismo07, 18 January 2024 - 04:32 PM.

[Mike K.]

Dockside Green completed their condos last year, remaining project is a rental and will complete this year. Then there are two approved towers. Not sure what they’ll be built as.

[Sparky]

^ Excellent. Population is growing 700 per month!

^ Greater Victoria has experienced only 333 increase per month in the past 4 years....no?

 

https://www.macrotre...oria/population

[AllseeingEye]

Dockside Green completed their condos last year, remaining project is a rental and will complete this year. Then there are two approved towers. Not sure what they’ll be built as.

 

Isn't one of them slated to be a hotel? Or is that old, dusty and ancient news now?

[AllseeingEye]

^ Greater Victoria has experienced only 333 increase per month in the past 4 years....no?

 

https://www.macrotre...oria/population

 

This is always a bit of a 'best guess' discussion because depending what site you look at I've seen the "metro" population of Greater Victoria range everywhere from a low of 397,000 "and change", up to 440,000 on the CRD site but that one includes everything from Sooke to the west-shore, the core munis, peninsula and southern gulf islands.

 

I just tell people if asked that the regional population "is....roughly 400k++ at an educated guesstimate. Well....approximately. You know.....give or take." And leave it at that.....

[Mike K.]

Isn't one of them slated to be a hotel? Or is that old, dusty and ancient news now?

There remains more to be built at the northern end, and maybe a smaller few buildings near the Harbour and Esquimalt intersection, one of which might end up becoming a hotel.

[IPH]

I know our project at 1224 Richardson is technically in Rockland and at 24 units not a large project.  But we are only 1 block east and two long blocks south of Downtown and are scheduled for completion around June 2024.

 

The BC Housing project on North Park, the development next to Vic High and Nest & Haven are also scheduled for completion this year.  So looks there is more than 130 units of new housing coming on line this year but most of it is not directly Downtown.  

[Nparker]

...The BC Housing project on North Park...

Which project is this?

[Victoria Watcher]

Which project is this?

 

Maybe this:

 

https://letstalkhous...ia-953-balmoral

[Ismo07]

Dockside Green completed their condos last year, remaining project is a rental and will complete this year. Then there are two approved towers. Not sure what they’ll be built as.

 

Yeah but wasn't mentioned as rentals coming this year.

[Nparker]

Which project is this?

Maybe this:.

Perhaps. 953 Balmoral is in North Park but not on North Park Street.

[Mike K.]

It was an article on downtown, though. I did mention Chard’s Nest and Haven, but in downtown-proper there will only be 130 units of new housing this year.