More than 250 homes to be created in Vancouver using revenue from Empty Homes Tax

FOUR proposed affordable housing projects in Vancouver will receive grants totalling more than $8 million dollars following approval by Vancouver City Council on Tuesday. The grants will go towards the construction of 269 units of social housing proposed by the following organizations:

– Finnish Care Home with a grant of $890,000

– Lee’s Senior Housing with a grant of $655,000

– Salvation Army with a grant of $910,000

– Aboriginal Land Trust and Lu’ma Aboriginal Housing Society with a grant of $6,255,000

The grants, totaling $8,710,000, will support the investment of multiple partners to deliver the proposed housing projects. Funded by revenue from the Empty Homes Tax and the City’s capital budget, the $25 million Community Housing Incentive Program (CHIP) awards housing providers with grants which increases the affordability of a social or co-op housing project by providing a capital contribution towards its construction. These are the first grants to be awarded by the program.

“As well as returning more homes to the rental market, the Empty Homes Tax is providing revenue to fund projects which will create new homes for our friends and neighbours, helping keep our communities strong and the people we love close by,” said Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart. “Providing more affordable homes across Vancouver is Council’s top priority and with these grants – the first from the new program funded by EHT – a proposed housing project is more likely to attract funding from other partners, including more senior levels of government.”

The CHIP program is a key way to deliver on the goals of Housing Vancouver by supporting the work of local non-profits, who play an important role in both operating and delivering housing affordable to low-income households.

Read the report approved by Council here and find out more about the CHIP program here.