Arrow and Slocan Lakes Community Services (ASLCS) is a registered non-profit charitable society providing community services in the Central Kootenays. In 2017, ASLCS engaged CitySpaces to prepare a housing needs assessment for several rural communities in which it provides services—including the communities of Nakusp, Burton, Faquier, and Edgewood—and to conduct a feasibility study to consider the development of an affordable housing project.
The initial phase of work was to create a housing needs assessment, which identified the current and emerging housing needs. This involved assembling and analyzing relevant and reliable data, as well as conducting interviews with relevant community stakeholders about particular housing needs. The housing needs assessment indicated that some households in the region have difficulty finding and affording suitable housing. Specifically, many young adults, young families, lone-parent families, and seniors face considerable housing affordability challenges.
Following the housing needs assessment, a second phase of work explored the feasibility of developing an affordable housing project. The CitySpaces team traveled to Nakusp to facilitate a workshop and assist ASLCS with identifying objectives around housing, including the identification of target populations and focus areas. A framework for the selection of potential affordable housing sites was developed and used to evaluate a select number of sites in the region, prioritizing them based on their suitability. Two high-level concept plans were developed for the short listed sites, along with associated business plans with order of magnitude construction cost estimates and order of magnitude operating budget estimates, including an equity analysis.
The housing needs assessment will be used by ASLCS to demonstrate a need for affordable housing investment in their region towards potential funding contributions for both pre-development and construction funding. The feasibility analysis demonstrates how ASLCS could develop and operate a potential housing project, using a construction cost estimate, estimates of anticipated rents, and estimates of expected contributions from project partners and funders.
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