Coquitlam to pay $5.8 million to keep co-ops; mayor ‘disgusted’ with feds

They’ll pay, but they’re not happy about it.

Coquitlam council unanimously – but unhappily – voted to put $5.8 million toward helping a non-profit developer buy and keep 290 co-op units at the 2800-block of Packard Avenue.

Both the Tri-Branch and Garden Court housing co-operatives were built with federal funding in the 1980s. However, the money from Ottawa has since dried up and there has been “no investment” from senior levels of government, a fact that rankled Mayor Richard Stewart.

“I’m disgusted that we are bailing out the federal government for a mistake they made,” Stewart said.

The city’s “tiny share” of the $100.8 million purchase price would come from Coquitlam’s Affordable Housing Reserve Fund, Stewart noted.

“The purpose of our Affordable Housing Reserve Fund is to build affordable housing not to rescue affordable housing from stupid government mistakes from 40 years ago,” he said.

Stewart was critical of putting a co-op on land it doesn’t own with no plan in place when the 40-year lease expires.

The properties were leased to Community Land Trust, a non-profit developer that specializes in co-ops and has 3,200 homes in B.C.

That lease agreement expired in 2022. Since then, Community Land Trust has been trying to work out an arrangement where they could buy the properties from the owner for $100.8 million and maintain both co-ops.

In her remarks, Coun. Teri Towner noted the recent homelessness count, which showed a stark increase in the number of homeless seniors. The report also found that 35 percent of homeless people surveyed said they lost their housing due to insufficient income.

“I don’t really agree with bailing out decisions from other levels of government,” Towner said. “That said, with what’s going on with affordability and homelessness . . . I feel good about supporting moving this.”

The city’s contribution is subject to funding from the province.

The arrangement will preserve “safe, secure, and affordable homes,” according to a presentation from Community Land Trust.

“A successful acquisition can insulate the homes in perpetuity from market forces that maximize rents and profit,” the report stated.

Coun. Matt Djonlic said he was optimistic the province would contribute.

“The fact that the feds are not stepping in and taking the lead on this is incredibly disappointing,” Djonlic said.

While it’s an unfortunate situation, it’s fortunate the city has the money to “step up and do this,” Coun. Dennis Marsden said.

“We’d be hard pressed to replace this with $5.8 million from our coffers,” Marsden noted. “This provides certainty for the residents in the co-op right now.”

Marsden also suggested the city could write a letter to local MPs, reminding the federal government that Coquitlam stepped up after previous federal governments “dropped the ball.”

About 21 percent of the co-op tenants have a gross annual household income of less than $30,000. On the other end of the income spectrum, 18 percent of tenants earn between $80,000 and $100,000 and 12 percent earn more than $100,000 annually.

The buildings are in need of about $14.5 million in repairs.

If Community Land Trust looks to redevelop, the city’s $5.8 million contribution would “need to be acknowledged and taken into consideration,” according to a city staff report.

The city’s affordable housing fund has a balance of $18,468,121.