The district is moving forward on a plan for a new affordable housing development at Buckley Avenue and Wilson Crescent.
The project is still in a conceptual phase, but the current work will allow the District to submit funding applications to the provincial and federal governments in December.
The draft plan for the location, near the existing Squamish Skatepark, would include 72 apartment units and eight lower-density townhouse units, as well as surface parking and green space.
There is also room for a new building that would replace the existing Youth Centre.
“Staff would like to note that this is a very preliminary feasibility study, and much more work is required to finally determine the construction budget, operating expenses, and the resulting rental rates that are required to support the project, but at this point in time, it appears the project is worth pursuing,” reads the report to councillors, which was endorsed at a council committee meeting on Tuesday.
The proposed rental rates, based on current funding projected by staff, would be $990 for a studio, $1,170 for a one bedroom, $1,440 for a two-bedroom and $2,250 for a three bedroom.
While district general manager Gary Buxton acknowledged that those rates are not ideal for affordable housing, they are below the current market rental rates in Squamish.
The draft budget for the project puts the total cost of the project at $23.2-million.
Questions raised during the meeting included what support services could be offered onsite, availability of federal funding, the size and affordability of the units, and the use of other District-owned land for other projects in the future.
In September, the district revealed it was assessing two sites for an affordable housing project – the Buckley Avenue site and a second property near Guilford Drive.
While the Guilford site still has potential, there is no current water service to the site and it is adjacent to Little Stawamus Creek. Buxton said given those complications, staff chose to focus on Buckley to meet funding deadlines.
“It’s not off the table, but it requires some detailed riparian assessment work before we can get anything useful,” he said.
