VICTORIA – A proposal by the Diocese of British Columbia to create 24 affordable rental homes for seniors has received its required zoning approval. On Aug. 27, the municipal council of Esquimalt, B.C., unanimously approved the project, to be built on the site of St. Peter and St. Paul’s Anglican Church. The project will also include a new community centre.
The project is part of the diocese’s long-term plan for sharing its properties more widely and building partnerships in local communities. Organizations partnering with the diocese already provide more than 300 affordable housing units on Vancouver Island. Another project now under construction will mean 84 more units of affordable housing for seniors in Saanich, B.C., and another 85 are planned for the same community.
A total of eight projects in the diocese are now awaiting approvals for funding from financial institutions and publicly-supported lenders and grant providers.
The diocese also plans to develop “multi-use community spaces,” with churches, affordable housing and facilities for children’s education all on the same site.
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