Federal funding comes through for Coquitlam co-op housing

The federal government is investing $76.3 million to build 146 new rental units in an affordable co-op housing development in Coquitlam.

On Nov. 22, federal Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Gregor Robertson made the funding announcement for the second phase of the Hoy Creek Co-operative Redevelopment. 

In a press release, he pledged it “will make a positive difference for people living in Coquitlam.”

The Community Land Trust owns the property, and runs it with the Hoy Creek Co-op. Out of the $76.3 million they’re receiving for the development, $14.7 million is a grant and $61.6 is a loan with affordable interest rates.

The development is slated for folks with “moderate to middle incomes.”

Rents are expected to range from $731 to $2,850, with 104 units slated for renters with incomes between $29,240 and $76,000. Another 42 are for those earning between $98,000 to $114,000.

Thom Armstrong, the CEO of the Community Land Trust, said the costs will be finalized closer to the finish date.

The City of Coquitlam is also contributing $3.65 million to the project, Metro Vancouver is waiving $2.1 million in development cost charges, and the province is contributing a significant (but not yet confirmed) amount, according to Armstrong.

“When all three levels of government come to the table and do their part, you can build deeply and permanently affordable homes that otherwise would just be impossible, given how expensive it is to build housing in this market,” said Armstrong.

Located in the Coquitlam City Centre neighbourhood, the development is set to have a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with 33 of those fully accessible.

This redevelopment is replacing a 1980s-built 157 unit co-development, which was a “tough time” for multi-unit residential construction and resulted in what is known as the leaky condo crisis.

The Hoy Creek Co-op was one of 75 co-ops and of hundreds of strata buildings that experienced “premature, catastrophic building envelop failure” and “rotted from the inside out,” said Armstrong.

The building “limped along” until 2016, when its 60 townhomes had to be demolished because they were no longer livable. Meanwhile, the remaining 97 apartments kept deteriorating.

The co-op couldn’t keep up with the initial mortgage payments to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), as the rate was based on 157 homes, not 97.

“They essentially got pushed to the brink of insolvency, and they were going to be forced into receivership,” said Armstrong.

The Community Land Trust bought out CMHC in 2021, and looked at redeveloping the property.

Three phases

The first phase of the project opened in 2024 — a six storey, 132-unit building with 65 rent-geared-to-income units, and 27 deep-subsidy units.

Currently, it has two-bedroom units that (depending on the renter’s income) range between $725 and $2,500 per month.

The 97 apartment dwellers in the original building moved over, and it offered an additional 35 homes for new residents.

The building will be owned by the CLT, who will run it in partnership with the Hoy Creek Co-operative.

What is Coquitlam’s housing need?

According to Coquitlam’s 2024 Housing Needs Report, between 2021 and 2024, it completed over 1,700 rental units, with 439 of them below- or non-market units.

While the report states that Coquitlam needs more than 13,000 homes by 2026, and more than 43,000 by 2041, it doesn’t state how many of these should be below- or non-market.

But it is noted in the report that it needs support from senior levels of government to meet its “growing demand for affordable housing.”

Across the province, Thom said they estimate they will have to build 12,500 affordable homes every every for 10 years “just to get us back to the starting line on the supply crunch.”

Construction is set to start next spring and is expected to take two years.