http://www.kelownacapnews.com/
The City of Kelowna has $150,000 in grant funding for developers looking to build affordable rental units. But with 11 days left
until applications are due, so far just one prospective builder wants the free cash. “We’re not getting a lot of interest because there’s not a lot of activity in building rental housing,” said Theresa Eichler, City of Kelowna community planning manager. “The situation in Kelowna is that most of our rentals are in houses and secondary suites in small buildings.” The grants fall into two categories—up to $5,000 a unit for non-profit affordable rental housing or up to $2,500 per unit for affordable rental housing that does not involve a non-profit society. Another $120,000 is budgeted for staff to
wave a portion of the development cost charges on non-profit rental housing projects, but there are not many projects to be found. “We do have half a dozen developers who are giving it a hard look…particularly with the focus on affordable housing that council has had,” Eicher said. “But with construction costs what they are right now, a lot of developers are saying it’s impossible to build affordable housing,” said city planner Ryan Smith. Eichler could think of just one major rental housing project currently on the books, although city staff are often not aware of which projects are slated for rental units, she admitted. But there likely aren’t many. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Rental Market Report, the apartment vacancy rate in Kelowna hovers around .06 per cent of prospective rentals or 26 of the 4144 apartments which qualify for the survey. “What’s needed is purpose-built rental buildings,” said CMHC market analyst Paul Fabri. “Certainly supply has lagged behind demand.” The strong condominium market means developers will see faster easier returns on their investments simply by building condominiums that can be sold for immediately profit. “If you build a rental building, to get a return you have to be in it for the long haul, and a lot of developers are not interested in managing properties,” Fabri said. With that said, the CHMC report does not include the carriage houses and secondary suites that have become a popular second or third form of income for local homeowners and an affordable option for many local renters. “We survey rental units that contain at least three or more self-contained units,” said Fabri. “And the reason we’ve done that is because those kinds of buildings tend to stay rental whereas the single detached units can flip flop back and forth.”
The City of Kelowna has $150,000 in grant funding for developers looking to build affordable rental units. But with 11 days left
until applications are due, so far just one prospective builder wants the free cash. “We’re not getting a lot of interest because there’s not a lot of activity in building rental housing,” said Theresa Eichler, City of Kelowna community planning manager. “The situation in Kelowna is that most of our rentals are in houses and secondary suites in small buildings.” The grants fall into two categories—up to $5,000 a unit for non-profit affordable rental housing or up to $2,500 per unit for affordable rental housing that does not involve a non-profit society. Another $120,000 is budgeted for staff to
wave a portion of the development cost charges on non-profit rental housing projects, but there are not many projects to be found. “We do have half a dozen developers who are giving it a hard look…particularly with the focus on affordable housing that council has had,” Eicher said. “But with construction costs what they are right now, a lot of developers are saying it’s impossible to build affordable housing,” said city planner Ryan Smith. Eichler could think of just one major rental housing project currently on the books, although city staff are often not aware of which projects are slated for rental units, she admitted. But there likely aren’t many. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Rental Market Report, the apartment vacancy rate in Kelowna hovers around .06 per cent of prospective rentals or 26 of the 4144 apartments which qualify for the survey. “What’s needed is purpose-built rental buildings,” said CMHC market analyst Paul Fabri. “Certainly supply has lagged behind demand.” The strong condominium market means developers will see faster easier returns on their investments simply by building condominiums that can be sold for immediately profit. “If you build a rental building, to get a return you have to be in it for the long haul, and a lot of developers are not interested in managing properties,” Fabri said. With that said, the CHMC report does not include the carriage houses and secondary suites that have become a popular second or third form of income for local homeowners and an affordable option for many local renters. “We survey rental units that contain at least three or more self-contained units,” said Fabri. “And the reason we’ve done that is because those kinds of buildings tend to stay rental whereas the single detached units can flip flop back and forth.” 
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