Canmore Community Housing Corporation is on the hunt for a new managing director to take the organization into the future.
Jennifer Bisley stepped down as the head of the corporation, which is wholly owned by the Town of Canmore, after seven years with it.
CCHC board chair Joanna McCallum said the housing authority has passed a strategic plan and will present it to council during budget committee in November.
“It is a pretty status quo strategic plan at this point because you want to wait for a new managing director to make their mark as well, since they will be the one implementing the plan,” McCallum said. “We update the strategic plan annually, so I suspect next year it will look much different.”
The business plan report set to go to CCHC’s board this week shows several key strategies are on hold until a new managing director is recruited including innovative finance and housing programs to improve housing access like employee housing and alterative shared equity models and improvements to the organization’s capacity to deliver programs and develop properties.
While the process continues, CCHC continues to complete construction of phase one and two of McArthur Place at 100 Dyrgas Lane. McCallum said phase one of 32 perpetually affordable housing rental units is anticipated to be complete in the New Year and a further 16 units for phase two in the spring.
She said 60 households have given an expression of interest in McArthur Place and will be asked to undertake the formal application process in the near future.
“They are asking everyone who expressed interest and provided preliminary financial information to come in and go through the whole process,” McCallum said.
CCHC does not have a waitlist for the new units, as it has been soliciting those expressions of interest. However, the wait list for ownership units, of which there are currently 44, sits at 17 and seven applications have been made this year so far. While all ownership PAH units are currently occupied, there have been 76 inquiries into the units this year. PAH ownership units have a resale restriction that is connected to the rate of inflation each year.
CCHC’s 60 rental PAH units at the Hector on Palliser Lane are also fully occupied, has a waitlist of 30 households and has seen 279 inquiries so far this year, compared to 324 last year.
The rental rates are determined based on calculations the Alberta government makes called the core needs income threshold, which sets what is considered a below market rate based on the information of rental rates in the community.
Go to www.canmorehousing.ca for more information.
