Opening of building for seniors celebrated
Final phase of Apple Valley complex contains 47 units, with rents depending on tenants’ income
The final phase of an affordablehousing complex for seniors in Kelowna is now complete.
Apple Valley 3, located at 2075 Benvoulin Ct., officially opened Oct. 1, with its grand opening Thursday morning.
The building contains 47 one- and two-bedroom units, including several wheelchair-accessible units.
It is run by the National Society of Hope, and is geared toward lowto moderate-income seniors.
The first phase of Apple Valley, with 72 units, opened in 2011, and the second phase, with 78 units, opened in 2017.
Residents living in one-bedroom suites pay as little as $375 a month and up to $860 a month, depending on their income, said Luke Stack, executive director of the National Society of Hope.
“We have a variety of income levels of people living here,” he said.
Currently, the Society of Hope is building 21 townhomes in Glenmore for family housing.
When that project is complete, the society will have more than 700 units in Kelowna, including family housing, seniors housing and transitional housing for women.
“We have a vision as an organization to grow by another 150 units over the next five years,” said Stack.
The federal government, through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the provincial government, through BC Housing, jointly contributed about $4.6 million toward Apple Valley 3. The cost of this phase of the project was $11.4 million.
The total cost of all three Apple Valley buildings was $38 million, $15 million of which was contributed by governments.
After praising the Apple Valley project, B.C. Housing Minister Selina Robinson spoke in favour of a controversial proposal by BC Housing for a supportive housing complex at 2025 Agassiz Rd. in Kelowna.
Nearby residents have spoken out against the project, stating concerns with having “high-risk individuals” living near several seniororiented complexes.
“I appreciate their concerns, but the previous government didn’t put in the kinds of services that we’re committed to putting in with this sort of housing,” Robinson said.
BC Housing says the project would be similar to a 51-unit residential complex that has opened at 1642 Commerce Ave. It’s a threestorey modular structure, where on-site services include life skills training, employment assistance, and referral to community services and support groups.
The government received similar concerns regarding a supportive housing project in Vancouver, and crime has not been an issue since it opened, Robinson said.