A $1.85 million financing deal between BC Housing, Pacific Aurora Construction and the Province will aid the housing crisis in Prince Rupert with new construction already underway.
“Prince Rupert is a growing city, which has created a demand for affordable homes. This is why the Province is partnering with Pacific Aurora Construction to support them building six three-bedroom rental homes for middle-income families in the Silversides subdivision of Prince Rupert,” BC Housing stated in an email to The Northern View.
“We’re building some rental homes right now in Prince Rupert on Eagle. I think the roofs on one of them and foundations are in for the next one,” Kevin Stunder of Pacific Aurora said on March 17 addressing the business community at the Chamber of Commerce meeting.
Construction on the new homes started in January with the Province, through B.Cs’s HousingHub, providing interim construction financing for the project.
HousingHub was created by the Province in 2018. It works with community, government, non-profit and private-sector stakeholders to help create new rental housing and homeownership options for middle-income British Columbians.
“Unlike other housing projects for people with low to moderate incomes, the Province does not directly fund HousingHub projects. Instead, the Province provides interim construction financing – a loan that is then repaid by the developer,” BC Housing stated.
“In other words, the Province uses its borrowing power to provide lower-cost financing than what developers could obtain on their own, which in turn lowers the cost of the project and makes the rents lower than they would otherwise be.”
The rental rates for this project will be set below the average market rental rate for the community, BC Housing said.
Stunder said the construction company also has a ‘couple of other multifamily projects planned which are currently in the pre-development stage.
K-J Millar | Journalist
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