The BC Government is buying a three-storey, 42-unit apartment building at 435 Cherry Avenue in Kamloops for $12.8 million.
It says the building, which is currently vacant as it was damaged in a fire in Jan. 2021, will be made available to low- and moderate-income families, seniors, individuals, and people living with disabilities.
“To succeed in life, people need a place to call home, and we are making sure that more people in Kamloops have that today with this purchase,” Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s Minister of Housing said, in a statement.
“Our government will continue to explore creative avenues like this to build on our commitment to increase affordable housing options that meet the needs of people in Kamloops and in communities across British Columbia.”
The province says it bought the building – which has a mix of studios, one-and two-bedroom units – as it “could have otherwise been redeveloped and converted to for-profit housing.”
It estimates that renovations will take roughly six months, with tenants expected to move in by the end of this summer.
BC Housing will own the building with the provincial Crown agency currently in the process of choosing a society to manage operations.
B.C. Assessment valued at the property at $4,203,000 as of July 1, 2022.