Time is the worst enemy for Apex Western Homes CEO Raymond Vesely.
Vesely developed an 11-storey building at 33230 2nd Avenue in Mission to transfer 92 new affordable housing units into a non-profit's hands.
However, a funding application to change possession of the project to More Than A Roof Housing Society through the Community Housing Fund was declined by BC Housing earlier this year.
Despite a “strong” submission, BC Housing said it did not rank high enough in the scoring procedure.
Every day the project stays in the hands of Apex, Vesely is losing over $7,000.
“It would be so nice to actually have it go in the direction it's supposed to,” he said.
According to a statement from BC Housing on Tuesday (June 18), talks are ongoing with More Than A Roof, the developer, and the City of Mission to find alternative funding to move the project forward.
“No decisions have yet been made. We will share any significant updates with the community once any decisions have been finalized,” BC Housing said.
The project, which is Mission’s tallest building, is near-complete. The tower apartments are all finished but the commercial space is the final area to undergo construction with Vesely awaiting the outcome of the BC Housing talks.
Under the More Than A Roof proposal, the bottom floor would contain a shared kitchen, laundromat and bases for social enterprises. If the building isn’t transferred over to a non-profit, the units will become available at market rates and Vesely would make changes to the bottom floor.
However, Vesely remains hopeful for a positive outcome. He says the building provides a small solution to a much larger demand for affordable housing in Mission.
“It’s a definite need,” Vesely said.
In April, housing minister Ravi Kahlon said the project was proceeding without government funding.
“I appreciate it’s a tough market. There’s a lot of projects which are coming to us now asking for government to assist them on. With the funding that we have, we simply cannot save every single project,” Kahlon said at the time. “We do what we can with the resources that we have. We have thousands of new homes coming online.”
Council entered a housing agreement with the property in May 2021 that stipulates the units would be 100 per cent affordable and managed by one entity in the form of a property management company or an affordable housing provider.
The project would need to come back before council in order to offer the apartments at market rates.
