Should all neighbourhoods include affordable housing? Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier thinks so.
Every community in the city should be a “K-to-R” community – kindergarten to retirement – Bronconnier said before helping officially launch the new Cyprus Greens project in the CFB West housing area.
Cyprus Greens sits on land donated by Canada Lands Co. and developed by a partnership of public, private and non-profit sectors. Like many homes in nearby Garrison Woods, these former military houses were refurbished and placed on new foundations. Their appearance fits in well with adjacent communities, without the “new neighbourhood” look of infills in some parts of the city.
Bronconnier noted that people are moving to Calgary in droves, with net migration of 20,000 people a year, which poses a challenge to the housing industry already facing the second-busiest year in history.
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| Larry MacDougal, Business Edge |
| The new Cyprus Greens neighbourhood fits in well with nearby communities. |
Sixty-five working families now have rental units they can afford, in an area near the high-end Garrison Woods neighbourhood.
The mayor says affordable housing should be part of the planning process for all new neighbourhoods. He told those at the ceremony the Calgary model has served as an example for communities across Canada, and has even attracted notice from the United States.
Debbie Graham, residential planning manager for the city, says residents looking to live in the area apply through Calgary Housing and are evaluated for eligibility. The mixed rental formula at Cyprus Greens means that the higher rents are at the low end of market value while others are subsidized. The entire complex is intended to be self-supporting.
Partners in the project included the city, Calgary Housing Co., the Infrastructure Canada Alberta Program, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., Alberta Gaming, the Calgary Homeless Foundation, Artisan Homes and Hurst Construction.
Even with the addition of Cyprus Greens, there’s still a long way to go for affordable housing in this city. About 15,000 Calgary households spend more than half their income on rent, says Terry Roberts, executive director of the Calgary Homeless Foundation. The figure is based on 1996 census figures and estimates were treated conservatively.
“If you are paying more than 50 per cent for shelter, you are in real dire straits,” he says.
There are some encouraging signs, such as the mayor’s proposal to set aside two per cent of the land in new communities for affordable housing. It’s a better option than concentrating low-income people in one neighbourhood, says Roberts.
There is also hope Alberta will soon match a federal program offering $68 million over four years at $25,000 per unit for affordable housing. The money would be controlled by Alberta and directed to municipalities with the greatest need.
Calgary is clearly one of those candidates, he says.
The market works well for about 90 per cent of the people who want to buy or rent real estate, adds Roberts. It’s the other 10 per cent who need private sector, non-profit or government help.
Dale Stamm, general manager of Calgary Housing Co. which runs social housing for the city, says his clientele are the working poor, those between total homelessness and those who can afford to rent or buy at current market rates.
The housing company owns and manages 6,500 units and subsidizes another 1,000. But the waiting list is 1,800 households, most of whom are low-income singles and families, often young female single parents. The turnover is low, at 80 to 100 units a month.
Naum Shteinbah, a member of the government affairs committee of the Calgary Region Home Builders Association and general manager of Streetside Development Corp., says a single person on minimum wage can’t afford a market rent.
A $150,000 townhouse condo with a minimum $7,500 down payment would need a monthly mortgage payment of $1,200, says Shteinbah, requiring an income of $3,600 a month or $43,200 a year. A family with two wage-earners would likely still find that affordable.
A commercial real estate office is rallying behind the troubled Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra with an innovative fund-raiser.
Torode Realty will sell $500 packages of ticket vouchers offering a selection of 10 performances. Torode will buy 50 packages itself and try to sell another 700 to corporate Calgary.
Western Spirit Investments Ltd. says it will continue business as usual after an arrangement with Calloway REIT wasn’t completed.
Calloway was to have bought all the outstanding shares of Western Spirit for 60 cents a share, and the transaction was approved by both groups of investors. It was subject to Calloway completing equity financing by Oct. 22. Western Spirit said it heard from Calloway that the financing wasn’t satisfied.
