Housing project for women, kids ‘remarkable’
AT CAPACITY: New facility provides permanent living suites for at-risk or homeless singles, families
Women and children first is the key to the province’s latest social-housing project, the success of which will hopefully draw more federal support for other projects in B.C.
On Thursday, the minister responsible for housing, Rich Coleman, toured the Budzey Building, near Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The building provides long-term permanent housing for women (including transgender and cisgender) and womenled families.
The Budzey was opened in July 2015 and was gradually tenanted throughout the fall. Only just recently did the building finally reach capacity.
According to Amelia Ridgeway, an associate director at RainCity Housing, the organization partnered with B.C. Housing to interview prospective tenants, ensuring that the residents being moved into the Budzey are from the surrounding community. As well, there was a focus on women who had been longtime tenants at nearby SROs (single-room occupancy) facilities.
As a result, Ridgeway said many of the incoming Budzey residents became neighbours with previous acquaintances.
“When a lot of them moved in, a lot of people did know each other already and what we did as a staff team was focus in on that community and look to find ways to engage with the women and families that were moving in through community activities,” she said.
Coleman noted the building and the operation was secure and provided a sense of stability for those most at need.
“It’s pretty remarkable,” Coleman said Wednesday, after touring one of the last remaining suites available at the Budzey. “Every time we do a building, we try to target it to a new relationship with a particular demographic of folks that need specific help.”
The building, which is managed and operated by RainCity Housing, features 147 residential units spread across 10 storeys. Of those units, 106 are self-contained studio suites, while 41 are one-, two-, or threebedroom family suites.
The studio suites are rented at $375 per month, which is the amount an individual on assistance receives for rent. The family suites follow the same formula.
The building is equipped with facilities for kids, community services, a secure front desk, as well as two bedbug saunas. The saunas are large enough to hold everything an individual might own, before being turned up to 68 C for 24 hours to kill all the bedbugs and their eggs.
The province had previously announced that it was contributing $37.1 million toward the construction of the Budzey, and another $891,000 in annual operating funding.
The City of Vancouver donated the land, valued at $4 million, as well as the site cleanup of about $902,000.
The Streetohome Foundation is contributing $2.9 million.