Kelowna Housing Project Exceeds Prior BC Developments with $120M Cost

(Image courtesy of BC Housing)

Vancouver is world-famous for its housing problems, caused by delays, red tape, and slow processing of permits. However, this issue isn’t just limited to the Lower Mainland. A project in Kelowna has also faced pushback with a high price tag of $120 million.

In Kelowna, there is a housing project located at 1451 Bertram Street that will receive $120 million in provincial funding. The goal is to provide 176 units and, according to the budget, to 'provide non-market and affordable market rental housing for moderate to middle-income families,' with an expected completion date of 2029.

A Story of Delays

This project has been a long time coming. The province bought the land in 2018 and tore down the old structures on the site in 2019. A December 2020 Redevelopment Plan stated that the project would get the necessary approvals in 2021, allowing construction to start in 2022. But due to “upper-level ministry approvals” per a BC housing representative, the project development permits were given in August 2024, nearly three years behind schedule. 

Coastal Front asked BC Housing about the allocation, and BC Housing responded by saying the $120 million figure was “based on a high-level cost projection and includes land, residential and non-residential cost components of the project” and that further details will be made available once the tendering process is completed. 

The cost, $120 million, has also raised eyebrows. $120 million to build 176 units equals around $681,000 per unit. Another comparable project in Kelowna, the apartment building at 1280 Sutherland Avenue, will cost $38 million and will build 240 units, or $158,000 per unit. Another Kelowna affordable housing project at 1745 Chapman Pl., was completed at a cost to the province of $226,000 per unit. 

Another Housing Venture Plagued with Inefficiency

This project is an additional example of the lagging progress in building affordable housing in BC. While supply chain and economic uncertainty may be contributing to rising material costs, a fourfold increase in cost per unit is hard to believe—just as waiting ten years for a housing project seems excessive.