Elkford’s long-anticipated affordable seniors’ housing complex will begin welcoming residents soon, with a grand opening to go ahead later this month.
Mayor Steve Fairbairn says the Elkford Housing Society has been behind the project, which was first announced in 2020.
“Their managers are already living in the building, and they hope to have it open for residents on June 1,” said Fairbairn.
Fairbairn says the project started as a long-term vision of the former mayor.
“Over 12 years ago, Dean McKerracher was advocating for a seniors’ home in Elkford. When I joined council, it was one of the things I really thought we needed in town, as did the rest of council and most of the people in town,” said Fairbairn.
“Since leaving politics, McKerracher has been on site almost every day, and he has caught a number of mistakes, from stoves and fridges that don’t fit in the design space and accessibility requirements not being met.”
The building will have 21 one-bedroom units and three two-bedroom units, all of which will be accessible or adaptable to accommodate residents’ needs.
“Most of these units are going to have some level of rent subsidy, and a few will be at market rent,” said Fairbairn.
“One of the dreams with this is that it’s going to open up homes for young families to move in as seniors move out.”
The four-storey building will be at 214 Alpine Way, with easy access to Elkford’s amenities and downtown area.
This project has backing from the federal ($12.7 million) and provincial ($2.8 million) governments, the Regional District of East Kootenay ($500,000), the District of Elkford ($200,000), the Columbia Basin Trust ($200,000), Teck ($400,000) and the Elkford Housing Society.
Fairbairn says the building would not exist without external funding.
“If you take the costed build and you divide that by the number of units, you’re looking at a market value of $625,000 per unit. It is not a viable project from an economic standpoint,” said Fairbairn.
“If it weren’t for millions of dollars of donations and grants, this would not work. That’s a sad state of affairs for housing in this province and in this country. It is shameful, and I don’t know who is to blame.”
While the new seniors’ complex is a much-welcomed addition to the community, Fairbairn says it was not all smooth sailing to get to this stage.
“Through COVID and supply chain issues, the CMHC and BC Housing required redesigns of everything, including hallways that were half of an inch too narrow because someone didn’t calculate the thickness of the drywall, which required a whole new set of drawings to be done,” said Fairbairn.
“Through all that, the building is finally opening.”
The open house will run from noon to 2 p.m. on Monday, May 26.
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