Part of what makes our Centre City a thriving and sustainable place to live and work is having access to affordable housing options. This matter has always been a priority for The City and now even more help is on its way. Recently, City Council approved a land use amendment which means a green light for the future development of more attainable housing for people who earn a moderate income. This is big news for many Calgarians as there are already people on the Attainable Homes Calgary project wait list.
The building sites will be on two different west downtown parcels of land: one on the south corner and one on the north corner of 6 Avenue SW and 9 Street SW.
The first site approved is currently vacant - it's a surface parking lot which will close when construction starts:
And once that building is completed, work will begin on the second site here at the Ravvins building which was vacated some years ago by The City of Calgary. The building has lived past its lifecycle and so it will be torn down to make way for new housing.
All of this will mean the west end of Calgary's downtown will become a more vibrant residential neighborhood. This is a positive turn for people who already live and work in the area as more people living in our Centre City makes it a safer and more inviting place.
Sharon McCormick is the Executive Director at Attainable Homes Calgary Corporation. She points out that with vacancy rates on the decline, the reduced supply and increased demand from job seekers will trigger higher rental rates which ultimately puts even more pressure on household budgets...it becomes a scenario where saving for a down payment is much more difficult. McCormick says, "Creating housing choice in our Centre City for people earning less than $80,000 annual household income helps attract and retain our workforce and builds stronger communities."
Attainable Homes Calgary will be working with a private builder to begin the design phase in the next few months. The anticipated site construction start is in 2014.
Click here to read more about Attainable Homes Calgary, a non-profit City of Calgary organization. On its site you'll find all the information you need about the application process, and also about past projects which are now complete. Here's a short video provided by Attainable Homes Calgary:
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