Families are already moving into the newest affordable housing project in Terrace, a 47-unit, three-storey apartment-style building at 4819 Lazelle Ave. close to the City of Terrace firehall.
Although completion was delayed during COVID and supply chain issues, the apartment operator, M’akola Housing, welcomed its first six families early this month.
M’akola is the largest Indigenous housing provider in the province, providing affordable accommodations to 5,000 people.
The provincial government’s housing agency, B.C. Housing, provided $10.3 million for construction with M’akola adding $760,000.
And while M’akola provides housing to primarily Indigenous persons, the Lazelle Ave. building is open to everyone, said Kevin Albers, the agency’s chief executive officer.
“If there are sufficient qualified applicants within the City of Terrace, they will be selected firstly and then we reach out more widely to the region to house as many individuals and families as possible,” explained Albers of how tenants are chosen.
“As this is a B.C. Housing funded program/project, families and individuals are selected from the [B.C.] housing registry,” he said of the centralized data base filled out by applicants.
The 47 units are a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom units with rents based on income circumstances.
Approximately 22 units are to have a deep subsidy for those on a very limited income with rents starting at $375 per month for a one-bedroom, $570 per month for a two-bedroom and $660 per month for a three-bedroom.
Rents for the remaining units will be based on income so that residents pay 30 per cent of their income on rent.
The income levels to qualify for the 30 per cent level are set by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and represent the maximum gross household income for eligibility.
For this year in the Terrace area the household income maximum is $38,000 a year for a one-bedroom or less unit, $48,000 a year for a two-bedroom unit and $57,500 for a three-bedroom unit.
And because rents paid will not cover full operating costs, B.C. Housing is paying M’akola an annual operating subsidy of approximately $630,000. The B.C. Housing money for construction comes from a specific Indigenous housing program.
The Lazelle Ave. project is not the first to be undertaken by M’akola in Terrace.
Four years ago it helped develop the three-story, 45-unit Stoneridge Estates affordable housing project on Haugland on the southside in conjunction with the Ksan Society.
And last year, construction began on another Ksan/M’akola project — a three-storey, 22-unit apartment style building for women and children fleeing domestic violence.