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
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.