BC government to buy $400 million of land near public transit for housing

Exterior of the Marine Gateway complex at SkyTrain Marine Drive Station. (Marine Gateway/Perkins&Will)

The Government of British Columbia is making its first major push to strategically invest in transit-oriented development as part of its housing plan.

During today’s 2023 provincial budget reveal, BC finance minister Katrine Conroy announced $394 million in new funding specifically towards acquiring lands along major public transit corridors to build new affordable and market housing buildings.

This funding will “help buy land for thousands of new homes near future transit development projects,” such as near the future SkyTrain stations of the Millennium Line Broadway Extension and the Expo Line Surrey-Langley Extension.

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This investment will be spread out over three years, including $83 million in the 2023/2024 fiscal cycle, $133 million in 2024/2025, and $178 million in 2025/2026.

The provincial government first signalled such a direction when it changed the BC Transportation Financing Authority’s powers last year, allowing it to buy land not just for the technical needs of building transportation infrastructure projects but also to acquire properties for the development of housing.

TransLink also recently announced its creation of a new for-profit real estate division that focuses on building residential, commercial, and industrial developments. The division will carry out its projects in a combination of ways, including potential partnerships with levels of government and both private and not-for-profit developers.

Late last year, while campaigning to become the new BC NDP party leader, Premier David Eby proposed to launch a major public housing program, which would fall under the newly created BC Ministry of Housing.

Separately, the provincial government is providing BC Housing with $230 million in operating and capital funding over the next 10 years to help revitalize and expand the crown corporation’s aging secured rental buildings.

The provincial government’s investment in transit-oriented development is part of its planned $1.97 billion in capital investments related to housing and reducing homelessness between 2023 and 2026. In total, including $2.22 billion in operating costs, the provincial government is spending $4.2 billion in housing-related expenditures over the next three fiscal years.

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