Proposal for 550 units relies heavily on provincial funding that Victoria has yet to commit
Doug Ward
Sun
This prefab student housing project in Amsterdam uses modular shipping containers. Real estate consultant Michael Geller has suggested temporary modular housing for Vancouver’s homeless.
Vancouver city council is backing a proposal to provide 550 temporary housing units for the homeless, including prefabricated modular units, by the end of the year with funding for up to five years.
However, the proposal relies heavily on provincial funding, and Housing Minister Rich Coleman said there is no money for it in this year’s provincial budget.
The interim strategy involves placing 190 prefab units on city-owned land adjacent to the Drake Hotel in the Downtown Eastside and at the Old Continental Hotel on Granville Street.
“This is the boldest step yet from the city to aggressively deal with homelessness,” Mayor Gregor Robertson said.
Another 250 units would be leased through hotels and single-room occupancy buildings, and 110 units more through conversions in government-owned buildings.
The City of Vancouver would provide $13 million in capital improvements and lease costs, with the private sector contributing a proposed $12 million for capital improvements and the province $27.5 million for operating costs.
But the provincial government has not committed any funding for the project. “We’ve not made any financial commitment to this thing as yet,” Coleman said.
“It’s just a report before council at this stage,” he said. “We haven’t got anything in our budget this year … to add to this thing, nor have we really actually been asked at this time.”
Coleman said the province would meet with the city in future to determine what is possible.
The modular housing component was based on proposals from architect Gregory Henriquez and real estate consultant Michael Geller, who suggested the idea during Geller’s unsuccessful council bid in last fall’s municipal election.
The province asked Geller to study the feasibility of the modular concept and he concluded that the idea was a practical one. Geller said capital costs would vary between $37,000 and $46,000 per unit, compared to $302,000 for permanent units already announced by the province.
“One of the true benefits of this approach is that we can have people housed in a matter of months rather than a matter of years,” said Geller.
“While some may be concerned that this housing will not be attractive, I think the plans produced to date clearly demonstrate that a great concern may be that it’s too attractive and hence will become permanent.”
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