10 Port Moody homes facing destruction to be given new life in shishalh Nation project

Ten Port Moody single-family homes that were set to be demolished will instead become affordable homes for members of the shishalh Nation on the Sunshine Coast.

Scheduled to start Tuesday, the homes will be moved by truck, then barge, from Port Moody up the coast to the Sechelt. 

“The shishalh Nation’s main goal is to provide new homes for our members on Nation lands,” said lhe hiwus (Chief)  Lenora Joe. “We are thrilled to work with Renewal Development on this innovative form of sustainable housing and to pave the way for other Indigenous Nations looking for answers to their own housing needs.”

The Renewal Development and the shishalh Nation project intends to rescue a good portion of the 59 homes that Wesgroup Properties intends to tear down as part of their Coronation Park development project, now known as Inlet District.

Glyn Lewis, CEO and founder of Renewal Development, said 2,700 homes are demolished annually in Metro Vancouver, and they estimate 700 are able to be relocated and repurposed as affordable low-carbon housing.

“To the best of our knowledge, a project of this scale, using these partnerships and processes, has never happened before here in the Pacific Northwest,” Lewis said.

After approaching Wesgroup around a year ago, Renewal assessed the homes and found that 10 were ideal candidates for the project. 

shishalh Nation agreed to purchase the homes in early 2024, which will be renovated and upgraded to be more energy efficient once they reach their destination. Renewal Development will lead the renovation project.

“We thank the shishalh Nation for their trail-blazing leadership and Wesgroup for demonstrating the possibilities of responsible development,” Lewis said.

Wesgroup, besides supplying the homes, has provided funds and project management expertise to help lower the costs of the relocations for the shishalh Nation.

Dean Johnson, Wesgroup’s vice-president of development, said the company is always trying to find sustainable ways to reduce construction waste in their projects.

“We are happy to partner with the shishalh Nation and Renewal Development to give these homes a second life in a new community,” Johnson said.

The project will take a year to complete, and the homes are part of the first phase of the shishalh Nation’s Selma Park subdivision project.