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The long, hard battle to make sure housing subsidies go to the right tenants

July 19th, 2016 · 1 Comment

ICYMI, here is my story about a recent court case, where Red Door Housing Society removed the subsidy from a tenant who didn’t report income her daughter had been getting. Now they are being asked to pay $1,990 for their three-bedroom townhouse on the False Creek waterfront, instead of $650. It’s a small glimpse behind […]

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Second round starts tonight for the Yaletown-Jubilee House-Brenhill developments

April 14th, 2015 · 4 Comments

People wanting to jolt themselves out of a state of contentment may want to watch the angst-ridden proceedings tonight aka the public hearing for 508 Helmcken, the current site of Jubilee House social housing and the future site of a 36-storey tower. I did a story in the Globe today summarizing the surge of pros […]

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Supreme Court ruling strikes down rezoning for controversial Yaletown city-developer land swap and two towers

January 28th, 2015 · 29 Comments

This was a bombshell yesterday. More to come. No one seems to know all the scenarios that might play out (could this void the city’s land sale with Brenhill? will public hearing process need to be changed?), all of which sound serious and complicated. Lots of interesting things in Justice McEwan’s ruling. He stayed out […]

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Next experiment in shipping-container social housing: seven storeys

December 27th, 2014 · 8 Comments

The housing non-profit Atira built a three-storey building out of shipping containers a couple of years ago. Now Atira is launching an even more ambitious effort, a seven-storey building composed out of 80 to 90 shipping containers. My Globe story is here, with a render. You can also look at the rezoning proposal on the […]

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City and developer negotiate unusual deal to replace social-housing building, add market rentals in Downtown South

March 14th, 2013 · 34 Comments

It’s all here. FRANCES BULA Published Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2013 09:54PM EDT Last updated Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2013 10:04PM EDT A developer has negotiated an unusual partnership with the city to swap lots in return for building social housing downtown. In a pitch that neither side has rushed out to advertise widely, Brenhill Development proposed […]

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Olympic village prompts questions about city policy of mixing rich and poor

October 5th, 2010 · 35 Comments

There is social housing all over the city, but most people don’t realize it. Coal Harbour, the nice section of Kitsilano next to Jericho Beach, north False Creek, the West End, south Granville — there are unobtrusive apartment buildings everywhere. For a long time, that’s gone unquestioned. But in the past week, the issue has […]

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Social housing at Olympic village soars to almost double original cost

February 17th, 2009 · 7 Comments

That’s the latest fun news from city hall, as per this report that just got put up on the city’s website. The cost of the 250 housing units has soared from the original estimate of $65 million to $110 million. Now the city is facing the question of what to do — put in millions […]

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Province buys housing units for the homeless all over B.C.

January 30th, 2009 · 8 Comments

Another fun morning in another unheated brick building being renovated, with the housing crowd in the province as everyone gathered at the St. Helen’s hotel on Granville Street. That was to hear the premier and Housing Minister Rich Coleman announced they had bought 601 new units around the province in 15 buildings, all as part […]

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Cost of the social housing at Olympic village?

January 14th, 2009 · 28 Comments

I haven’t bothered posting the last couple of days on the Olympic village because there is now such a raging torrent of media coverage that I decided to stand on the riverbank letting it flow by, while I think about what’s going on. I’m sure many of you are in the same state, as we’ve […]

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Solving homelessness, beyond spin 2: David C’s response

January 7th, 2009 · 5 Comments

Hi Frances, Thanks for your response to my pre-Christmas post on homelessness. It’s important there be a real debate about these issues, and it seems to have started. So let me respond to some of what you have written. 1. You write, “ … Housing Minister Rich Coleman announced he had bought 10 Downtown Eastside […]

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