METRO Vancouver Housing on Tuesday unveiled its 10-Year Housing Plan, which outlines plans to invest approximately $190 million in affordable housing over the next decade with the goal to provide 1,350 new and redeveloped units in the region.
The new 10-Year Plan is a framework to guide how Metro Vancouver Housing will provide, preserve, and expand its portfolio of affordable rental housing across the region. It has four broad goals:
- Provide affordable housing that supports healthy and engaged communities
- Preserve and renew existing sites to maintain affordability, improve sustainability and accessibility
- Grow strategically through redevelopment and expansion
- Develop partnerships to expand affordable rental housing across the region
“Partnerships are absolutely essential to address the shortage of affordable housing in our region,” said Mike Hurley, Chair of Metro Vancouver’s Housing Committee. “The plan emphasizes building positive relationships – with our tenants as well as with member municipalities, other non-profit housing agencies, the development sector and provincial and federal governments. We will also seek innovative partnerships to leverage our investments and support even more affordable housing across the region.”
“Homes are more than just buildings. A major focus of the plan is on supporting healthy and engaged communities to support people throughout various life stages and evolving housing needs,” said Metro Vancouver Chair Sav Dhaliwal. “We encourage all our member jurisdictions and colleagues in the housing and development sectors to review the 10-Year Plan, so that we can collaborate to achieve our common goals.”
Metro Vancouver Housing is one of the largest non-profit housing providers in the region, currently housing over 9,400 people at 49 sites. Metro Vancouver Housing supports diverse mixed-income communities, primarily for families, seniors and people with special housing needs. About 30% of the rental portfolio consists of rent-geared-to-income units (rents no more than 30% of tenants’ gross income) with the remainder at low-end-of-market (rents 10-20% below market).
Read the full plan here.
