Affordable rental housing being developed in Banff moved closer to becoming a reality this week with the selection of a design and build consultant by the municipality and first reading of a borrowing bylaw..
Affordable rental housing being developed in Banff moved closer to becoming a reality this week with the selection of a design and build consultant by the municipality and first reading of a borrowing bylaw..
Housing sustainability coordinator Sharon Oakley presented an update to council on Monday (Aug. 22) regarding development of affordable housing on Deer Street and the selection of Knightsbridge Homes and GEC Architecture as the winning submission of a request for proposal process earlier this summer.
Oakley said the consultants chosen proposed the most creative and best use of the land, along with meeting the scope of work set out by council.
“We felt they provided a creative, affordable, non-taxpayer supported development that allowed us as the Town of Banff to provide below market rental units,” she said. “They have done an exceptional job because they were creative in their design.”
The 132-unit development proposed would include a mix of suites, one and two bedroom units of apartment style living at the Deer Lane location and five A-frame duplexes. The duplexes were an unexpected bonus on the site, said Oakley, who admitted administration beleived that area undevelopable due to its geographic constraints.
Mayor Karen Sorensen welcomed the information update on the process and the choice of design and build consultants. Sorensen said the purpose of the project to develop affordable rental housing is to address a critical shortage in the community - a zero per cent vacancy rate since 2013.
“The purpose of this project is to house the people currently living in our community,” said the mayor. “My dream for this is that the people who work here live here and we have more homes for families and a wider variety of housing for all residents.
“This project, and hopefully other future projects, are about increasing our vacancy rate to at least one per cent. My dream would be three per cent, which is actually a healthy community.”
Knightsbridge Homes submitted the proposed development with the name Ti'nu, which Oakley explained is a translation from the Nakoda language for “come in” and struck a chord with staff working on the housing project.
Oakley said staff see the project as a way to build community and a welcoming name like Ti'nu is more than fitting. She added the proposal meets the requirements set out by council earlier this year for an appropriate mix of unit types and below market rental rates. That includes five per cent of units or more meeting a barrier free standard of accessibility.
In addition to 132 units, the development would include 238 bike stalls, shared laundry facilities, storage located in each unit, use of a concrete frame instead of timber and meet a Leadership for Energy Efficiency and Design (LEED) standard of platinum.
The platinum level was directly related to the energy efficiency measures included in the design, according to Town of Banff engineer Adrian Field.
But while the building would reach a LEED standard, the proposal for the building does not include certification of the structure through the LEED process. Field said that certification is an in depth process to determine the building's efficiencies and would cost $52,000.
Field said the concrete frame helps with energy efficiency, as well as triple glazed windows and the choice of things like high efficiency water boilers. The site, unfortunately, is not well situated for solar power, though, and it is not proposed as part of the building.
“It is going to be incredibly well insulated and a highly efficient building,” he said.
When it comes to certification, Field said council's direction was to meet the standard, but not spend the funds on the official process. However, he said, should council wish to go through that process it can direct administration to do so.
Councillor Ted Christensen said he would be interested in getting the certificate and plaque for the LEEDS certification even though there is a cost attached.
“Surely there are some advantages to having this,” he said. “I think it is significant, I think it is commendable that we have been able to have a plan that will achieve that.”
Coun. Corrie DiManno pointed out the affordable rental housing project is meant to be just that - affordable - and a LEEDS certification process would affect that outcome.
As for rental rates, Oakley said they will base the numbers on the median income of a single person as per 2013 tax data and with inflation factored in for a 2018 completion date. She said median income of a single person for that purpose was $28,000 and by using that as the foundation to develop rental rates it creates “the most opportunity to create affordability in our community.
“It was a juggling act to make it non-taxpayer supported and affordable,” she said, adding the rates come in below market value. “We think we are well placed in terms of being below market rental rates.”
In order to borrow the $22.8 million needed to complete the housing project, council approved first reading of a borrowing bylaw. According to requirements, the bylaw must be advertised for two weeks before second and third reading can occur, which gives an opportunity for those who oppose the borrowing to undertake a petition if they so choose.
Banff already took out a debenture of $965,000 to purchase the property from Parks Canada, which resulted in the federal agency giving up a structure with 10 staff housing units in the process.
The result, Oakley said, is that 15 of the 132 units in the Deer Lane project would be dedicated to housing Parks Canada staff. Other than those 15 units, she said the rental building will be open to the public to apply. However, the application process is still to be determined, as are the final building design and development permit details.
