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Low-income individuals and families now have greater access to affordable housing with the official opening of a new apartment complex at Central Green.
Named i-spa-us ki-low-na, which means Heart of Kelowna, the four-storey complex provides 86 affordable rental apartments for Kelowna residents who have been unable to find places to rent within their price range.
A look inside one of 86 new units of affordable #housing that just opened in #Kelowna. Details: https://t.co/fTAwUmJXZ7 @cityofkelowna pic.twitter.com/hQfHt2H0iA
— BC Housing (@BC_Housing) February 17, 2017
A unique feature of the building is that renters are allowed to combine their studio apartments with adjacent one-bedroom units to create flex units for extended families.
As part of the city’s Central Green Strategic Land Development Project, the complex will soon be accompanied by a community park, multi-family dwellings, retail spaces and community amenities.
As well, the majority of the site will be car-free and exhibit a network of pedestrian walkways to connect to the site with surrounding communities.
According to MLA for Kelowna-Mission Steve Thomson, this development will encourage diversity and inclusion in Kelowna.
“Central Green i-spa-us ki-low-na is extremely innovative,” said Thomson. " This redevelopment takes a new approach to designing spaces that encourages diversity and inclusion in our city.”
In total, the B.C. Government provided $3.9 million for the project and arranged construction financing of around $15.6 million. The City of Kelowna also provided approximately $1.1 million in land contributions, municipal reductions and grants, with Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society contributing $470,000.
The Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society currently manages the building at 1745 Chapman Place.
The society is a non-profit organization that helps develop community-based services while promoting Aboriginal culture.
According to Edna Terbasket, the executive director of the Ki-Low-Na Friendship society, this development wouldn’t have been possible without the contributions of the Province.
“A lot of hard work went into creating this beautiful building,” said Terbasket. “We would like to thank BC Housing and our entire team for their spirit of cooperation in using their creative and technical skills to bring more affordable rental housing to Kelowna."
Those interested can learn more about the Province's actions on housing affordability here.
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