Vancouver mayor expands mandate to build middle-income housing on City-owned lands

Artistic rendering of Pierview Homes at 3245 Pierview Crescent, Vancouver. (Community Land Trust)

Currently, the City of Vancouver’s internal efforts to have a direct hand in funding and building housing primarily focus on affordable housing for low incomes and individuals experiencing homelessness.

This approach will change, with Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim calling for expanding the City’s mandate to create middle-income housing for households with an annual income from $80,000 to $180,000, based on provincial guidelines.

This would also align with BC Housing’s existing efforts to catalyze middle-income housing for working individuals.

According to Sim, it would benefit essential workers, including police officers, firefighters, and healthcare workers.

“The shortage of middle-income housing fundamentally threatens the city’s overall sustainability and liveability and hinders economic growth and makes it difficult to attract and retain the talent the city needs to prosper and to provide for the needs of all Vancouverites,” reads his member motion.

City staff will be directed to expand the mandate of the newly created Vancouver Housing Development Office (VHDO), which the city manager’s office directly manages. VHDO oversees the Vancouver Affordable Housing Endowment Fund.

They will also identify opportunities to create new middle-income housing on City-owned land, including potential sites, potential units and supply range, and potential partnerships with First Nations, the private sector, non-profit organizations, faith-based groups, and other government agencies.

Vancouver City Council is expected to approve Sim’s motion in a meeting next week. City staff will report back by no later than June 2024.

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