By Ethan Ready

Aboriginal Housing

Urban Aboriginal Community Project hopes to break ground Fall 2020

Feb 19, 2020 | 1:18 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – It’s soon to be home, sweet home.

The Prince George Aboriginal Housing Society held an open house for its upcoming community development with regards to a phased, master planned Urban Aboriginal Community Project at 1919 17th Avenue.

With years of planning, Executive Director Christos Vardacostas says they’ve reached a point where they can move forward with the project development.

“I’ve been with the organization for three and a half years now, and during that time, we’ve continued to plan essentially the entire site. When we purchased the land, we went through a rezoning process and during that time I needed to cover the various uses that go along with housing to make sure that we could have the services and amenities that we need”

As part of the development process, the Aboriginal Housing Society has applied for an Official Community Plan (OCP) and Zoning Bylaw amendments.

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“Essentially, we’re going to go back to the city with some adjustments to that rezoning, and that primarily just relates to some consistencies across the site and also round some cultural uses.”

The first phase of the project will create 50 units of townhouses, with the introduction of infant, toddlers, and children spaces added shortly after.

Phase 2 begins to focus on specific residential specialities tailored for individuals such as students and Elders, with 50 units, while Phase 3 could have between 150-200 units being added. Currently, Phase 3 is still going through preliminary planning and final details have not yet been determined.

The proposed development of the site will begin with Phase One townhouses in five buildings, with an interior courtyard garden and park, and will offer housing in one, two, three and four-bedroom units. The proposed new housing development will offer housing, as well as programming and services to a range of tenants, from students and Elders to singles and large families.

Margaret P’foh, CEO from the Aboriginal Housing Management Association, said the project could serve as a benchmark for future Aboriginal housing developments in the province.

“It’s a rare project in a lot of different ways, mostly because of the footprint of land that it’s going to be on. But I think that it has the potential to really be a demonstration of what can be achieved by Indigenous communities and agencies for Indigenous communities as well.”

According to Vardacostas, the overall cost of the project could cost upwards to $60 million, possibly more when some of the elements outside of residential get considered.

The hopes that construction for the first phase of the project will begin in the Fall of 2020.