Brighouse United Church still wants to develop housing on its property on Bennett Road - just off No. 3 Road - but refinancing is necessary after building costs have risen.
The United Church rental housing project was going to be financed by BC Housing, but as costs for construction have gone up, they are no longer eligible for that funding, explained Don Evans, director of property development with the United Church of Canada, Pacific Mountain Region.
The church is now looking at getting financing through the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
“We’re looking at what our options are to complete this project,” Evans said. “It’s an important project for us, and it’s an important project for the community.”
Evans explained two other projects – one in Vancouver and one in Victoria – had similar issues and they are trying to refinance them through CMHC.
Council passed first reading on the project in October 2019 and it went to public hearing.
The original plan was to build a six-storey building as well as townhouses as well as a new 10,000-square-foot church, smaller than the current one.
This included 142 rental units - 20 units would be low-end affordable and 68 for moderate income levels.
“We don’t want to not complete it – we’ve put a lot into this already,” Evans added.
Evans said the United Church might change the project, but it would have to be within the same parameters as they don’t want to go through another rezoning process.
