Sooke modular housing units to open in early 2022
The assembly of 104 prefabricated modular housing units is underway, bringing much needed affordable rental housing to the residents of Sooke, B.C.
The modular housing project located at 2170 Charters Road will house 75 rental units. The four-storey building will include studio-, one-, two- and three-bedroom suites.
“Sooke is sort of a mix of demographics of both young families and older retiring individuals,” said M’Akola Housing Society CEO Kevin Albers. “This is the first-of-its-kind four-storey building in the District of Sooke.”
The $25-million project was made possible by a partnership between the Capital Regional District (CRD), BC Housing, the District of Sooke, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the M’Akola Housing Society. When completed, the M’Akola Housing Society will manage the property.
“Fifteen of the homes are through the CRD’s 'Rental Housing First Program' and the rents will be set at the shelter rate for housing which is $375 per unit per month which is a very affordable rate,” said Albers. “The balance of the units will be set at average market rents that will be established in early 2022.”
What makes the project one-of-a-kind for the District of Sooke and the Greater Victoria region is the prefabricated housing modules used to construct the affordable rental building.
“It's the first modular housing building that M’Akola has built in its over-30-year existence,” said Albers. “There is a massive shortage of trades and we thought this would be a great opportunity to try out a modular solution.”
Each of the 104 modules was manufactured in a factory by NRB Modular Solutions in Kamloops, B.C. The units were then shipped to by truck to the Vancouver area, before being loaded on a barge destined for Victoria’s Ogden Point.
The white plastic “shrink-wrapped” units gathered a lot of attention from those who saw them while they were stored at the port.
Approximately 40 of the units have been assembled so far at the site.
“You can see it being built right now with the crane in place and you go from zero storeys to four storeys in a matter of weeks,” said Albers.
Albers says when the project is completed it will help to fill the need for affordable housing in the district. He says there is a significant demand for purpose-built affordable rental housing in Sooke.
“There’s literally been decades between this project and the last project that’s been built in Sooke that provides that kind of affordability,” said Albers. “It provides access to purpose built rental housing as opposed to a secondary suite kind of solution that isn’t ideal for every make up of family.”
Albers says he expects the crew from NRB Modular Solutions to complete the assembly of the building in January. He says the affordable rental housing complex should see its first tenants the following month.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.