Premier David Eby Thursday (Sept. 19) morning used a Vancouver backdrop to highlight a development model that could be used across B.C.
The proposal for 2,600 units of various sizes sees three First Nations in Metro Vancouver provide the land, with the provincial government covering 40 per cent of the units' financing costs at a total cost of $672 million.
Eligible buyers will cover the remaining 60 per cent in purchasing the units as 99-year strata leaseholds from a partnership consisting of the Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation and Tsleil-Waututh Nation.
The future units themselves will be located on the so-called Heather Lands in Vancouver's South Cambie neighbourood, among the most expensive areas in one of the most expensive cities in North America.
Government says the proposal prioritizes first-time home-buyers and people who currently do not own any property. Prospective buyers can register to confirm their eligibility as early as the spring of 2025 with construction expected to begin that year.
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"This can be replicated across B.C," Eby said during an on-site ceremony that also included Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, Indigenous Relations Minister Murray Rankin and First Nations leaders.
He later added to his point during his appearance in front of municipal leaders attending the 2024 Union of British Columbia Municipalities Convention.
"This initiative, I'm really excited about it," he said. "It's one of the tools that will help us address housing and it's one of the key housing initiatives that we will campaigning on...," he said. "If we can do it there (one of the most expensive housing markets in the world), we can do it right across (B.C.) and provide even deeper and more affordable discounts to get people into the housing market," he added later during a media availability.
While unit prices will be set at the time of the sale, the proposed 60-40 financing arrangement would under current market conditions reduce the cost of a studio unit to $372,000 from $620,000. A one-bedroom unit would cost $510,000 instead of $850,000, a two-bedroom unit would cost $780,000 instead of $1.3 million, a three-bedroom unit would cost $900,000 instead of $1.5 million.
Eby framed the proposal as part of government's plan to help middle-income individuals enter the housing market, noting that government's traditional role has been to help the poorest of the poor.
When asked how quickly this Vancouver proposal could be scaled up across the province, Eby said housing is the central issue facing the province.
"It's connected to everything," he said. "It's connected to economic growth it is connected to the financial stress that families are feeling, it's connected to health care, the ability to recruit and retain the health care workers we need, it's connected to street disorder issues, about homelessness, whether people have a decent place to live."
Given that the "problem of affordable housing is massive" and would require a "huge amount of resources," government needs to look for creative solutions, Eby said.
Eby's announcement came hours before his appearance at the 2024 Union of British Columbia Municipalities Convention in Vancouver and just days before the start of the provincial election campaign.
Eby said his party's platform will have a heavy emphasis on housing, while confirming that the project could be "theoretically" rolled back by a future government. "Although, I don't know why they would tell 2,600 families that should be shut out of the real estate market."
