Senior housing on the way

Photo: RDOS

A render of a 26-unit affordable senior housing complex being planned in OK Falls.

Construction for a first-of-its-kind senior housing project in OK Falls could begin soon, as the project has received financial help from the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen.

A three-storey, 26-unit affordable seniors apartment is being planned by the non-profit South Skaha Housing Society — to be built at 5080 9th Avenue.

On Thursday, RDOS board members voted unanimously to give a 10-year property tax exemption, which will be reviewed annually. They also waived the development cost charges for the project, totalling $109,200, and provided a grant-in-aid of $21,165 to cover building permit fees.

The project, expected to cost $6.7 million, has received $5.4 million in funding already from BC Housing. 

Consultant Andy Orr was at the regional district board meeting on Thursday on behalf of the society, and said there has been pressure to meet BC Housing's funding criteria to submit the project plans in time for "construction season," by the end of April.

With the regional district's financial help, the society hopes to begin construction in the summer and have the project completed sometime next year.

Twenty-four of the 26 units will be one-bedroom suites, some being handicapped accessible, while the other two will have two bedrooms. All units will be designated for residents aged 55 and older.

Area D director Tom Siddon pointed out that to this point, "there are no senior housing complexes in OK Falls." 

He said a project like this has been in the works for almost 10 years, when the society was first created in 2008, and he expressed gratitude for those involved in the planning.