Still lots – and time – to apply for grant

NICOLE VEERMAN 2010-01-07 Kelowna Daily Courier:

The dream of a new home with room for a growing family has finally come true for Tara and Jason Brisson. In April, the couple and their four-year-old daughter, Riley, will move into a house personalized to their needs, and it is all thanks to Project Build II. Project Build is a program that makes homeownership a possibility for people who might have difficulty saving for a down payment, but would otherwise be able to make the mortgage payments. To make the project possible, the Central Okanagan Foundation and its partners stepped in with $1.35 million. The money will be distributed between 30 individuals or families as a grant of $45,000 to put towards the purchase of a home in the Sageglenn development on Chase Road in Lake Country. “About half of the lots have been spoken for so far,” said Mary Jo Schnepf, a foundation director, “and the hope is the other half will be filled by the Jan. 15 application deadline. “People who have been applying are your neighbours, single parents, people who‘ve been through a divorce, young families. “It‘s a huge range of people who represent the life force of the Okanagan,” said Schnepf. For the Brissons, the new home will be an opportunity for more children and also a chance to pay-it-forward. “We sold our current home below cost to someone who wouldn‘t otherwise be able to get into a home, that way they get the home that they need, too,” said Tara Brisson.

The partners in Project Build are the Central Okanagan Foundation, Sageglenn Developments, Build-Rite Homes, The Property Source Group, TD Bank, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the District of Lake Country. The deadline for applications is noon on Jan. 15.
To find an application or more information, visit Thepropertysource.ca or Centralokanaganfoundation.org. Hard copies can be found at the Central Okanagan Foundation, 217-1889 Springfield Rd.; the District of Lake Country office, 10150 Bottom Wood Lake Rd.; and the Property Source Group – MacDonald Realty at 592 KLO Rd.