Dear Editor,
I recall this oft-submitted quote:
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result."
Having lived for decades in the City Centre, and specifically the Spires Road area since the early 1960's, I had a front row seat and was able to take notes re: the evolution of urban redevelopment, the needs and the demands.
Spires Road and its approximately 100 single-family homes (SFH) was developed in the early 1960s via the re-development of rear sections of properties on Cook Road and Westminster Highway.
At the time, Spires was one of the newest subdivisions in Richmond and concurrently had a relatively higher density, as many other SFH in the surrounding City Centre area at the time were on small acreages.
However, in the late 1970s, the city engaged in a massive OCP re-zoning in the City Centre area, and the area's SFH designation changed literally overnight to multi-family rezoning. Spires Road subdivision was surrounded by this new multi-family density.
Where once stood a single-family home on a large lot, new three-storey apartment blocks were built en masse throughout City Centre and other areas of Richmond, but were purpose-built as rental stock.
Much of the new construction was attributed to the federal government’s "MURB" program, i.e., "Multiple Unit Residential Building."
People were encouraged to invest in MURBs and, in return, receive tax benefits.
Clearly, the government saw a need to build much rental stock almost 50 years ago.
In addition, co-op housing was also proceeding in various Richmond locales.
However, in the 1980s, the economy began to deteriorate, interest rates spiked past 20 per cent, and the MURB program was abruptly cancelled and, unfortunately, never repeated since.
In my opinion, this was the golden era for the rental market whereby government both realized the need for affordable housing and acted on it, with the goal of balancing housing demand and supply.
However, now in 2025?
Unfortunately, the horses have left and the barn door is long gone.
Most of us extend both goodwill and best wishes for those seeking affordable housing.
Unfortunately, various ill-advised government actions and inactions have ratcheted up housing demand with decreasing supply and has made the situation worse, which can never be adequately addressed.
We, the general public, often see band-aid solutions at best.
This information is not meant to discourage parties per se, but there is no magic wand that can solve this issue which has been ongoing since the 1980s.
To the contrary, if the MURB program had continued, we likely would have significantly reduced the housing crisis.
The reality in 2025 is that token projects and ribbon-cutting ceremonies won't cut it.
We need to start with facts and not false hopes, cheap politics and blatant fantasies.
One such option is the MURB program, as a time-tested template, should be revisited, or, at minimum, analyzed and reviewed as real-world examples of housing possibilities.
We owe this pro-active approach to our fellow citizens.
R.A. Hoegler
Richmond
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