A proposed downtown housing development currently only exists in the form of concept drawings but is already receiving requests from future tenants to be put on a wait list.
Such is the need for affordable housing Nelson CARES promoted Monday evening, as plans were unveiled at an open house for a six-storey, 50-unit building to be located at the corner of Front and Cedar Streets.
At the event hosted by the Prestige Lakeside Resort, Nelson CARES housing director Joanne Motta said the building would welcome locals who work in the community but are being priced out of the rental market. Nelson CARES already operates five housing complexes in the city, each tailored to different demographics of tenants.
But there are no vacancies at those properties, and each has its own wait list. Motta said the property's location would serve adults and seniors who don't have vehicles but work and use services downtown.
“What I would like for people to recognize is that we're talking about working people, we're talking about families, we're talking about people on fixed incomes," said Motta. "We're not talking about individuals who are relocating from outside of the community.”
The project would include 15 units priced at near-market rent, which is defined as between $750 to $1,300 monthly depending on a household's income and the size of unit. Twenty-five units would be priced based on 30 per cent of a renter's income, and 10 units would be for people earning less than $30,000 annually.
It would be built on a 0.39-acre parcel, partially owned by both the City of Nelson and the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK), and feature 5,500 square feet of new recreation space on the third floor connected to the adjacent Nelson and District Community Complex (NDCC).
Amy Taylor, co-executive director at Nelson CARES, said the building's concept came from the Nelson and Area Economic Development Partnership, which includes the City of Nelson, RDCK, Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce, and Community Futures Central Kootenay.
“Businesses were saying they were having a hard time attracting and retaining employees because they had no place they could afford to live here," said Taylor.
"So it's both the existing folks who are living here that are needing to access affordable housing, but I think it's also businesses are saying that it's harder to attract employees and keep employees because there's nothing affordable to rent.”
Proponents of the plan also argued the building provides needed public recreation space.
Trisha Davison, the RDCK's regional manager of recreation and client services, acknowledged 5,500 square feet is unlikely to be enough room for a full gymnasium. But she said the space, which would be accessed via NDCC, could be used in several other ways such as an expansion to the rec centre's fitness studio, or as a multi-purpose space.
The RDCK recently completed its public consultation process reviewing local recreation needs. Davison said the survey, which received responses from over 2,000 people as well as 36 recreation groups, included a question about the property at Front and Cedar. The RDCK is now going through those responses, and Davison said how Nelson CARES' rec space is used would be determined by the survey results.
Although empty, the land is considered locally as part of the city's recreation campus, which includes the NDCC, the Civic Centre, Nelson Soccer Association's indoor field and the curling rink, the latter of which is empty and is likely to be torn down due to structural issues.
Davison acknowledged public desire to keep the area exclusive to recreation, but said any new publicly funded rec building would be expensive and probably require taxation from Nelson residents as well as people living in RDCK Areas E and F.
"I think you have to consider the greater community good on what the highest needs are, and that includes a whole bunch of different perspectives from different professionals and people that are serving the community in different ways.”
Several obstacles require clearing for the building to become reality.
The City of Nelson has already granted Nelson CARES $15,000 from its affordable housing fund to help prepare a funding application to BC Housing, of which financial support is required. That application will be submitted sometime in the spring.
City council also must vote on Nelson CARES application to rezone the land, which a spokesperson for the city said Tuesday had not yet been scheduled but tentative first and second readings would be in March following by a public hearing in April.
If it goes ahead, Nelson CARES said it would aim to begin construction in the early winter and spring of 2026.
