The province is celebrating the recent opening of a new affordable rental building for seniors and people with disabilities in Comox.
The 52-unit building, called Cypress Gardens, opened at 1582 Balmoral Ave. earlier this week.
Half of the units will be rented at a cap of 30 per cent of a tenant’s income. Meanwhile, an unspecified number of units will be reserved for people on “very low incomes, such as those receiving income or disability assistance, or a basic senior’s pension.”
The remaining units will have their rent set at “affordable market rates,” which currently range from $1,400 to $1,450 per month, according to the province.
“The North Island is not immune to the housing crisis and Cypress Gardens will give seniors and people who need accessible housing in the Comox Valley a safe and affordable place to live and age in place,” said B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon in a release Thursday.
READ ALSO: Renting in the Comox Valley: Low vacancy, high rents, no ease to the squeeze in sight
All of the rental units are reserved for seniors aged 60 or older, or for people with disabilities of any age in Comox.
Every unit is a one-bedroom space, with 12 units designated as wheelchair accessible.
The remaining 40 units are considered “adaptable,” meaning they can easily be renovated to improve accessibility in the future if needed, according to the province.
The new, three-storey wood-frame building also includes a common room, an office space, and a laundry facility on each floor.
It replaces a former 16-unit townhouse complex that was owned by the Comox Valley Affordable Housing Society (CVAHS) at the same site.
CVAHS will own and operate the new Cypress Gardens, which will receive $161,000 in annual funding from the province.
The province also provided roughly $5.2 million to build the facility, while the CVAHS provided $1.84 million in equity, as well as the land, which was valued at about $890,000.
SEE ALSO: B.C. housing plans could deliver 293,000 new units over next decade, says premier
Adam Chan
