CANMORE – Canmore Community Housing Corporation’s (CCHC) Hawks Bend perpetually affordable housing (PAH) development is officially open.
The home-ownership affordable project saw its official ribbon cutting on Monday (Sept. 30) for the fully sold out project, according to CCHC board chair, Steve Ashton.
“Today is the grand opening of Hawks Bend, which we’re super proud of – built by locals, lived in by locals, paid for by locals,” said Ashton.
“It sold out pretty much right away, as soon as the units came online they were sold.”
For local residents now living in the units at Hawks Bend, the development has given them a chance to stay in the community they love.
“It just means a lot to us … We’ve been renting for 10 years, [my husband] was born and raised here, so it was important for us to stay … If it wasn’t’for this, we would have had to leave Canmore,” said Jackie Purcell.
“It ended up turning into such a great community.”
That sentiment was echoed by resident Florymel Belonia, who said it means a lot for her family as well.
“Of course it’s affordable for living, especially here in Canmore – it’s so expensive – the housing,” she said.
The Hawks Bend perpetually affordable housing development was officially approved on Feb. 7, 2017.
“Council saw an opportunity to repurpose 1.01HA of land at the corner of 17 Street and 11 Avenue to create affordable housing opportunities for the residents of Canmore,” wrote Town of Canmore manager of communication Robyn Dinnadge in an email.
“A mix of row and stacked townhouses, primarily targeted at families, will add 49 units to CCHC’s portfolio.”
PAH is described by the Town as the “community’s investment in Canmore’s housing infrastructure, which allows CCHC to provide homes at below-market prices to eligible households.
“To ensure that the community's investment is retained for the perpetual affordability of future residents, resale and rental price formulas, indexed to inflation, are used to calculate how much a PAH unit may increase in value each year.”
In terms of how PAH developments are funded, Dinnadge broke that down.
“CCHC’s operational costs are currently offset through tax contributions collected by the Town of Canmore,”she said.
“The PAH levy currently generates approximately $720,000 in revenue annually. CCHC received $470,000 (2017) and $475,000 (2018) for operating costs, and the remainder of the funds from the PAH levy are held in a reserve for future PAH initiatives. The PAH funds are not used to offset the costs of operating the rental or ownership units.”
By end of year in 2016, CCHC had invested $2.9 million in land and development costs for Hawk's Bend, which was at the time referred to as the Old Daycare Lands.
“CCHC purchased the land for Hawks Bend for $1.3M,” wrote Dinnadge.
“This amount was based on the value of the land as municipal reserve, as well as the Town of Canmore’s capital costs associated with improvements to the remaining parcel.”
For more information on CCHC, visit canmorehousing.ca.
