The City of Penticton is taking the next step to building affordable housing on the former Shielings Motel site on Galt Avenue and South Main.

At the Tuesday meeting, city staff are asking council to apply for a grant through BC HousingÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™s Community Housing Fund (CHF) for the city-owned land at 2509 South Main St.

The city bought the motel property in 2021 for a portion of it to become the Point Intersection, including the roundabout that was just finished on South Main and Galt. The remainder of the property is intended to be affordable housing.

In July 2022, council approved spending $50,000 to develop architectural plans for an affordable rental housing development and to get the site shovel ready so they could apply for the housing grant.

If the city were successful in receiving the grant, the intention would be to find a not-for-profit housing organization to own the units and manage the housing. The city would maintain ownership of the land, under a long term lease agreement.

Under this model, the operator selects the tenants with the three different rental options: market rent, rent geared to income (RGI) or subsidized housing.

This specific fund targets families, seniors, women/women and children who have experienced or at risk of violence, youth transitioning out of care and people with disabilities capable of living independently without on-site supports.

According to the city report, the province is looking at projects that can be built out within 18 months.

The city looked at what several options of housing it could build and decided on high density, double loaded apartments that will house around 64 units.

Initial construction costs are estimated at $21.4 million (approximately $335,000 per unit). The full construction cost will be grant funded, said the city report.

In 2021, the city bought the Shielings Motel and announced a partnership with the South Okanagan Similkameen Brain Injury Society to build housing for seniors following the demolition of the old cabins.

The society had worked to find housing for the tenants of the motel when it was demolished by the city. The city purchased the property with the plan of using a portion of it for a roundabout at the intersection with South Main Street which has just been installed at Galt Avenue.

The brain injury society was unsuccessful in their bid for a grant for housing and that is what prompted the city to get Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥˜shovel readyÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™ so they could apply for the BC Housing fund.

The society has the Columbus House housing just beside this property on South Main.

At this time, the city said it has not committed to which not-for-profit will operate the housing.