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A new development by Wall Financial Corporation at the corner of East Hastings and Gore Streets contains a major social housing component. Now under construction, the 12-storey project at 288 East Hastings replaces a group of food-oriented retail storefronts with 172 residential units. The project adheres to the 60/40 housing split defined in the Downtown Eastside Plan, achieving 104 units of social housing and 68 rentals at market value.
Retail will return to the spot on the main floor, while the upper levels of the Endall Elliott Associates-designed building hold the residences. When completed in 2018, BC Housing will retain ownership of the 104 units, 35 of which are to be rented at the prevailing income assistance rates. The current shelter welfare rate of $375 a month has long been criticized by housing advocates as inadequate, especially in an overheated market that is pushing out people on the lower end of the income scale.
BC Housing will recover half of the profit earned on the market rental units in order to reduce the cost of the affordable units. A housing agreement with the City establishes that rents for the 68 market units will not exceed the CMHC average market rents. The Downtown Eastside Plan, approved in 2014, sets out a 10-year construction target of 1,400 social housing and 1,650 secured market rental units. Collectively, about 30 percent of the units in this goal are completed, under construction, or approved.
The 104 units renting below the market rate are a minuscule 255 square feet on average. The studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom layouts in the market rental portion range in size from 360 to 840 square feet. The $40 million project was recently paid a visit by Forum contributor City Of Rain, who captured the early progress of the building, which has risen about two storeys above grade.
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