Altus development offering EV parking for all
Each condominium at White Rock project to have charger in parking stall
When completed, the Altus development in White Rock will be the first project of its kind in Canada to provide every residential owner with an EV parking stall.
Developer Oviedo Properties has reached an agreement with the federal government to add an electric vehicle charger for each of the condominium's 126 homes.
“We wanted to find a way to expand access for people,” said Oviedo director of finance Stan Wong. “When you have a limited supply of EV chargers, which ours initially did, we thought people would be fighting over these EV chargers. We want people to be able to charge where they live.”
Electric vehicles are at the fore of the climate change management discussions. The Biden administration recently announced plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions, plans that would mean a shift towards electric vehicles. In British Columbia, EVs accounted for almost 10 per cent of car sales in 2020, the highest electric vehicle uptake in North America and up from four per cent in 2018. B.C.'s Zero Emission Act requires that by 2040, 100 per cent of light-duty vehicles sold must be EVs.
Wong categorized the individual chargers as “a nice luxury” at this point. White Rock caters to an older demographic, and Wong said he believes that Altus homeowners will move towards electric cars eventually if they haven't already.
“They may not use them right away, but in three or five years, when people start thinking about electric vehicles, they'll be thankful they have one.”
The additions to the building, which is in its last stage of development, are made possible by a recently announced $630,000 investment from the federal government. The funding is provided through Natural Resources Canada's Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program, which supports the government's target to have all new passenger vehicles sold in Canada be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2040.
“The federal government was very motivated to look at this,” Wong said. “This is not a freebie by any means. They're making an investment, and there has to be a payback on their investment.”
The 13-storey concrete building has an expected completion date of early 2022. Units range from one bedroom and den through three bedroom and den; and from 872 square feet to 2,776 square feet.
Half of the units are sold, Wong said.