Wanted in Maillardville: non-market housing

Coquitlam has the land for affordable housing. They just need someone to build it.

The city recently issued a request for proposals in a bid to find a non-profit society to develop and operate a new building at 1013 and 1025 Brunette Ave.

The arrangement would involve a long-term lease with the city.

City council previously backed a 166-unit non-market rental building for the 1.1-acre site. However, after the application was withdrawn in 2023, Coquitlam bought the site from Vancity in 2024.

While discussing the arrangement in 2022, Catalyst Developments Society representative Robin Petri explained that inflation, climbing interest rates, and uncertainty around government grants resulted in: “a very volatile time.”

The site is zoned for a comprehensive development that includes a commercial component. The city will give more weight to a proposal that includes commercial space beyond the minimum requirement, according to the RFP.

Submissions to develop the site must include information about affordability levels and non-market housing, according to the RFP.

With home ownership largely out of reach and renter households projected to keep increasing, affordability is a “key issue,” according to the RFP.

Approximately 35 percent of renters are in core housing need, which is defined as spending more than 30 percent of your income on shelter or living in a home that’s cramped or in need of repairs. This particularly affects “single-income households and lone-parent families,” the RFP stated.

When discussing the vacant site in council chambers recently, Coun. Brent Asmundson said he was doubtful a project would come to fruition without financial support from senior levels of government.

“I don’t think any of those proposals can move forward until there’s actual funding to make it happen,” he said.

The city’s submission deadline is April 17.