The six-storey development contain of the second phase will contain 138 apartment units
Work has begun on the second phase of a major non-market housing redevelopment project in Ladner.
Council last year approved the rezoning and development amendment that will see a six-storey development containing 138 apartment units for Phase 2 of the Evergreen Lane project, located at the southern section of the first phase in 4600-block of Evergreen Lane.
It will include a mix of one, two and three-bedroom units.
The proposal followed a previous application by the owner, Dogwood Holdings Society, for a 198-unit, two-phase, non-market rental apartment building development, which was approved by council in July 2022.
The first phase is now complete and includes 130 seniors housing units in a four-storey apartment building on the north portion of the site.
A second phase was approved for 68 family housing units in a 48-unit four-storey apartment building and a 20-unit three-storey townhouse building on the south portion of the site.
Since the original project was approved, economic and affordable housing need conditions changed and additional BC Housing funding became available, according to the planning department.
The applicant identified an opportunity to respond to current housing needs by requesting additional density and height to increase the affordable housing supply and economic viability for the project.
The applicant subsequently proposed modifying the second phase, which is focused on seniors and families.
The owner proposed operating all of the 138 dwelling units at affordable rental rates moving forward.
BC Housing is providing a grant for the project, as well as an on-going operating subsidy to ensure affordability is maintained.
Elsewhere in Ladner, work has yet to begin on another non-market housing redevelopment which was also approved by council last year.
That project by the Red Door Housing Society will redevelop the Ladner Willows below-market rental complex at Ladner Trunk Road at 55B Street.
The 146 units will be in a five-storey building.
The application had the support of BC Housing and the owner proposed that they would continue to operate all units under three affordable rent classifications.
Those include rent geared to income (50 per cent of the units), affordable market rentals (30 per cent of the units) and deep subsidy rentals (20 per cent of the units).
The site currently contains an older 40-unit, non-market townhouse development, which will be demolished.
Neighbouring Surrey pushing for even more non-market housing
Meanwhile, the City of Surrey will create an “as-of-right” zoning for non-market rental housing.
Surrey council recently agreed with a recommendation to direct staff to bring forward bylaw amendments to remove the rezoning requirement for non-market affordable housing units that are compliant with the Official Community Plan (OCP).
It’s one of the actions identified in the city’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Action Plan, which includes increasing the supply of below-market affordable housing by removing barriers to the provision of units.
Non-market housing refers to housing that is protected from market forces, generally owned and operated by non-profit or government agencies and includes a diverse range of housing types, such as rental housing, co-operative housing, and supportive housing and shelters, a recent report explains.
Most non-profit housing providers and co-ops rely on federal and provincial government funding streams to construct non-market housing projects.
There is a significant demand for non-market rental housing in Surrey, especially as the cost of housing in the private market has increased, the report notes.
The zoning initiative proposes changes to the zoning bylaw to allow eligible non-market rental and co-operative housing projects up to six storeys to proceed without the rezoning process. It would apply to sites owned and operated by registered non-profit housing providers or non-profit housing cooperatives, in areas designated for low-rise residential development.
Surrey is also looking at providing city-owned land for non-market housing, eyeing city-owned land in the 1000-block of 126A Street for a purpose-built rental housing development.
Council had authorized staff to initiate a procurement process to obtain a development partner for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a project.
The 1.2-hectare (2.9 acre) site is in the South Westminster Neighbourhood Concept Plan Area, and within the Scott Road SkyTrain Station Transit-Oriented Area.
The site would be leased to the development partner for an established period, which is currently envisioned at 60 years.
It is expected that Surrey staff will be able to recommend a development partner to council in later this year and that the selected development partner will prepare an application in early 2026, so that a lease agreement may be completed in in mid-to-late 2026, with construction to follow in 2027 and be completed in 2029, the report notes.
The report also notes that the selected development partner is expected to secure funding for the project through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) Loan Construction Program.
The report also notes that, in addition to facilitating the development of housing by the private sector, the city has an opportunity to deliver housing through an Affordable Rental Housing Strategy which would include the leasing of city owned land to development partners where at least 20 per cent of the units have rents below 30 per cent of the median total income of all families in the market.
Delta also looking at strategy
In Delta, while such a zoning initiative has not yet been proposed, the city’s Housing Needs Assessment notes inclusionary housing policies can specifically target affordability that other strategies, such as pre-zoning or gentle density, cannot.
When developing an inclusionary zoning pilot, there are a few important considerations, including locational criteria for a pilot, target affordability levels for units and duration of the affordability.
The report notes a “made-in-Delta approach to inclusionary zoning must be taken to adequately address the specific needs of our communities.”
Any piloting efforts should be focused on or near town centres or existing development corridors, the report notes.
The current housing target order to Delta by the provincial government stipulates that the city is required to add 3,607 new units by September of 2028, but the province also provided guidelines for unit sizes and tenures.
While those guidelines are not mandatory, the province suggested that of the total new units, Delta should add 830 below-market rentals, including 95 with on-site supports.
