Vancouver's Empty Home Tax revenues to support four housing projects

Vancouver's Empty Home Tax revenues to support four affordable housing projects

Artistic rendering of the new Alma Blackwell complex at 1656 Adanac Street, Vancouver. (DYS Architecture/Entre Nous Femme Housing Society)

The City of Vancouver has announced another round of new affordable housing building developments that will be partly supported by the revenues of the Empty Homes Tax.

These projects will receive a combined total of $9.6 million, funded by a combination of Empty Homes Tax revenues from homeowners who pay taxes on their empty homes based on a percentage of the property’s assessed value and from the City’s capital budget.

The combined funding streams to support these projects are called the Community Housing Incentive Program (CHIP) grants.

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According to a release, this includes $5.37 million for the Entre Nouse Femmes Housing Society for their 97-unit social housing building at 1656 Adanac Street and $4 million to the YWCA for the 36 homes the organization will buy in the six-storey mixed-use rental housing building with 70 rental homes at 388 Slocan Street.

There are also minor grant awards of $233,000 to Hopehill Living in Community Society for 64 non-market rental homes for seniors at 3321 East 5th Avenue, and an additional grant of $30,000 for First United Church Community Ministry Society and Lu’ma Native BCH Housing Society’s 103-unit social housing project at 320 East Hastings Street. The First United/Lu’ma Native project previously received a CHIP grant for $4.8 million in 2022.

All four grants will help support the completion of a combined total of 334 affordable rental homes.

Artistic rendering of the First United Church redevelopment at 320 East Hastings Street in Vancouver. (NSDA Architects/First United Church)

“The updates made to our Community Housing Incentive Program today will help provide vital relief to the housing pressures faced by many of our residents,” said Mayor Ken Sim in a statement. “The City of Vancouver is focused on delivering more affordable housing and the impact of this grant funding cannot be overstated as it will enhance affordability of homes for those who need it most.”

The program was also recently updated to expand the eligibility for projects with various levels of affordability in order to better align with the program funding requirements of the federal and provincial governments.

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