Kimberley’s third-quarter building report shows that over 100 new housing units have been approved so far this year.
Mayor Don McCormick said he’s pleased to see growth in the community’s housing supply.
“It’s probably the first time ever that we’ve hit over 100 in a given year,” said McCormick. “Most of them are multi-unit purpose-built rentals. That smaller footprint with higher density means a more affordable home for people. It will also allow us to get the numbers up to where we’re keeping up with population growth.”
Kimberley has issued 105 building permits for residential construction up to the third quarter of 2023, compared to 68 through the whole of 2022.
On top of that, more housing is on the horizon.
“We have about another 100 dwellings that have their development permit approved, but are not at the construction phase yet,” said McCormick. “Over the next couple of years, we’re going to add more than enough dwellings to accommodate our population growth.”
According to the Q3 report, 113 dwelling units have passed the development permit stage, but have not received a building permit yet.
The Mayor said the uptick in residential development will accommodate people wanting to move to Kimberley and people wanting to stay in the community.
“We have a lot of young families moving to Kimberley over the last few years. With where interest rates have gone, and stress testing associated with getting mortgages, it means a lot of these younger families will not be able to purchase homes yet,” said McCormick. “They’ll of course need a place to live, and having a purpose-built rental within their means is a really important thing for the community.”