Affordable rental units to be built on Tsawout First Nation land
Work will soon be underway on a new five-storey housing development for Indigenous people on land owned by the Tsawout First Nation.
The development to provide 28 affordable rental units for working Indigenous people is made possible by a partnership between the Tsawout First Nation, Salish Sea Housing Society and BC Housing.
The homes are being built on an almost-one-acre parcel of land owned by the Tsawout First Nation on Central Saanich Road.
“There’s a lot of job opportunities for the people who are going to be living on this site and it’s a great opportunity to for them to be nearby home,” said Tsawout First Nation Chief Harvey Underwood. “I think it’s paramount that it be built and our people have a sense of pride and prestige in their lives and have a comfortable place to call home.”
The project will be constructed on a vacant piece of Tsawout property in Central Saanich that up until a few years ago was used to store RVs and boats.
The building is designed to meet the needs of Indigenous families in the workforce. Three of the development’s 28 below-market rental suites will have three bedrooms, as will the building’s one fully accessible suite. The remaining 24 units will have two bedrooms.
Each of the units will also use energy-efficient lighting fixtures and heating systems that Chief Underwood says fits with the values of the First Nation.
Tsawout First Nation Councillor Mavis Underwood says the development will provide a solution to the housing needs of Tsawout people who have been unable to find affordable and appropriate housing in Greater Victoria.
“We have a large demographic of young adults starting out with families,” said Councillor Underwood. “We have two-thirds of our population (who) are young adults with children who need housing.”
Councillor Underwood says having the development within the context of the community and culture of the Tsawout First Nation allows the building’s residents to have the support of the First Nation at their doorstep.
“It keeps them in the shelter of their community,” said Councillor Underwood. “Having a place to call your own and to have pride in is empowering and I see this as a very empowering thing that you can be in the heart of your community with your family around you.”
In a news release, the province says the project will also include a communal space for gathering. reflecting a desire for community among the building’s future residents.
The project is funded by a $5.6 million grant from the province’s Building BC Indigenous Housing Fund. The government will also provide $425,894.00 in annual operating subsidies for the development for the next 25 years.
Once completed, the 28-suite building will be managed by the Salish Sea Housing Society.
Each of the units will include a dishwasher and hookups for washing machines and clothes dryers. The building will also include internet access, covered parking and storage for bicycles.
Rents have yet to be confirmed, but will be assessed at rates well below market rents in Greater Victoria closer to the time of the project’s completion. Rent for a two-bedroom suite is expected to be in the range of $655 a month. The three-bedroom units will rent for around $750.
“I look at the rents that are being described and I go, ‘Wow, I could afford that rent,’” said Councillor Underwood. “When I’m working, its not going to be just about rent, or I can’t afford food. I can afford a reasonable living, particularly if you’ve got young kids, you need to be able to feed them and just not pay rent.”
The housing development is expected to be completed and ready welcome its first tenants in spring 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.