Many of you have probably seen the real estate ads on the Tideline. Two significant parcels of land are being sold as part of a much larger vision. Cortes Community Housing intends to have the Rainbow Ridge project ‘shovel ready’ for funding by 2023.
They had previously applied for funding from BC Housing three times.
“Twice for Rainbow Ridge and once for the Senior Society expansion. What we’re doing now is getting ready for our third attempt to win funding from BC Housing for Rainbow Ridge,” explained Sandra Wood, Executive Director of the Cortes Community Housing Society. “We’re also working with Vancity Credit Union. They are helping right now with pre-construction expense.”
“So we have an opportunity to partner with Vancity Credit Union. We have an opportunity to partner with BC housing. Once one of them says, ‘Yes, your business case for Rainbow Ridge makes sense based on what it’s going to cost to build and the income that’s going to come in once it’s fully occupied,’ then we can also get CMHC, which is the federal government’s Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, to be a co-investment partner. They will only join the project once we’ve been selected by a bank or by BC Housing.”
She explained that all of the communities on Vancouver Island and the surrounding islands are competing for the same pool of funding from BC Housing.
“The next intake from BC Housing has not been announced, as far as when they will accept grant applications, but we believe it will be sometime in 2023. We hope it will be the spring of 2023,” said Wood.
“What we’re trying to do right now is make Rainbow Ridge a shovel ready project, so that it’s a really easy decision for BC Housing to choose Cortes Island.”
Rainbow Ridge is currently in the design development phase, and hired Iredale Architects to find less expensive ways to build 24 townhomes.
Cortes Housing is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Transportation for the 6 acre subdivision’s road design.
The project contractor is preparing an up-to-date budget, which will be costed in the Fall.
The new plans will be shared with the community at a town hall meeting in October.
“In addition to coming to BC Housing with those plans, we also need to come to the table with some cash. I know it’s going to be a big, expensive project and the more money that we can bring to the table, the more attractive it will be to BC Housing or any other funder,” said Wood.
This is where the real estate sales come in.
One is for an acre on the corner of Gregg and Sutil Point Roads. This is one of the few undeveloped commercial properties in Mansons Landing. Most commercial properties already have a building or house on them.
“The donor’s main request was that this property be used for commercial purposes,” continued Wood.
“This is a really great opportunity for the community to provide some space for businesses, whether that’s retail shops or commercial activities or a gallery, cafe, lawyer’s office, veterinarian, or a dentist. There are so many things that we travel to Campbell River for, as far as services and supplies go. This would be an opportunity to do less traveling and keep the business and the economy rolling on Cortes.”
The property does not have a driveway, parking lot, or power. However there is a shallow well and BC hydro power poles are nearby.
The asking price is $200,000, firm.
“I wanted to add that this is a very affordable, very fair price for that property, knowing that somebody will have a major expense to put up a commercial building and to put in all of the services,”
“If the future owner of this property also wanted to put a cottage or was able to figure out a way to add housing in addition to commercial space, then we’d be open to that as well. The main focus is for us to concentrate on building 24 homes on Rainbow Ridge and the sale of this property will help us to do that.”
The other property consists of close to 80 acres of forest in the centre of Whaletown.
“It has three luscious wetlands and a lot of habitat for wildlife. Currently the property is covered with extensive covenants that are held by the land Conservancy of British Columbia, so the main vision is that this property will eventually become an old growth forest,” explained Wood.
“However the previous owner had the foresight to define that a maximum of six homes could be built and tucked into that property. So it’s an opportunity for somebody in the community to potentially put together a land partnership, maybe with six owners, each of whom could have their house nestled in the forest in a really, really special piece of property with easy access to the Whaletown community, within walking distance to Gorge Harbour Marina, Gorge Hall and not too far away from the ferry.”
She explained that Cortes Island has a history of successful land partnerships like Tiber Bay, Redlands and Everwood. These are properties purchased by a group of people whose homes now share a road, or water, or power.
“I’m hoping that there’s a new generation of people out there who maybe can’t afford to buy a property on their own, but if they pooled their funds with five people or a group of six, they could build something really beautiful for themselves to help to solve their housing needs and at the same time steward an exceptional piece of property.”
The asking price is $960,000.
Cortes Community Housing’s principal goal right now is preparing Rainbow Ridge for the next round of funding by BC Housing, or funding by Vancity.
These two real estate sales will provide the cash that makes the business case for Rainbow Ridge more attractive than similar projects being put forward by other islands.
Top image credit: The current design for Rainbow Ridge – courtesy Cortes Community Housing
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