Smithers could be the home to some affordable housing units if grant money comes through for the Smithers Community Services Association.
They’re looking for the province to cover 20 per cent of the estimated 2-3 million dollars to build 15 low-income housing units.
The two-bedroom rental units geared towards low to moderate income households will be rented out by the association.
They’ll be looking to Smithers council in the future to work out the location of the housing and land use.
The 20 percent funding the SCSA is looking for will come from a pot of 350 million from the provincial Investment in Affordable Housing Initiative announced in April.
The proposed low-income housing is a separate project from council’s future plans at Railway Ave. and Queen Street, with the purchase of the lot there with the intention of turning it into affordable housing.
“Currently, there’s a gap there and we need to have some subsidized social housing to give people in our community the stability that they need,” says Mayor Taylor Bachrach.
“we don’t know, at this point, exactly the magnitude of that need, but we’ve heard many times from local service providers that that need exists.”