Close X
Friday, November 1, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C.'s government buys land for transit-oriented housing development

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Apr, 2024 04:51 PM
  • B.C.'s government buys land for transit-oriented housing development

British Columbia's government is spearheading a new public development project on Vancouver Island aimed at bringing more affordable homes closer to transit access.

Premier David Eby says the province has purchased two parcels of land for the Uptown development in Saanich, B.C., through the $394-million property acquisition fund operated by the Transportation Ministry. 

Eby says the plan is to build "hundreds" of new homes, retail and commercial capacity, on the site, along with possible amenities such as child care, public spaces and a transit hub. 

The development plan was announced after the province finalized the acquisition of two properties recently for a combined cost of $9.3 million, with the planning still in its early stages.

Eby says government got involved in the real estate development because of a "paradox" where people who use transit in B.C. are often priced out of homes close to those options.

He says the province will retain ownership of the land, while housing developed at the sites would be done as leaseholds or rentals, although the exact mix of housing has yet to be decided. 

"One of the pieces that we've really seen … is that the property values that immediately are adjacent to transit development go up in value," Eby says. "And when that land value goes up, the housing that's ultimately built on that site also ends up being more expensive.

"With government actually buying the land near transit hubs like this … we can shape development in a way that supports people who actually use transit actually being able to live close to the transit that they depend on."

No timeline for the development's construction or completion has been released.

MORE National ARTICLES

Poll: Canadians unsure online harms bill will make social media safer

Poll: Canadians unsure online harms bill will make social media safer
Fewer than half of Canadians believe the federal government's plan to regulate social media sites will make platforms safer, a new survey suggests. Polling firm Leger recently asked Canadians about the Liberal government's proposed Online Harms Act, which contains a suite of measures meant to make social media platforms safer, particularly for children.

Poll: Canadians unsure online harms bill will make social media safer

6 people arrested in Port Hardy drug bust

6 people arrested in Port Hardy drug bust
Police in Port Hardy say they've arrested six people in a drug investigation after seizing guns, and suspected fentanyl and cocaine, after executing a pair of search warrants over the weekend. Port Hardy R-C-M-P say there's been a recent uptick in overdose deaths in the north island community. 

6 people arrested in Port Hardy drug bust

Second degree murder charge for Surrey man

Second degree murder charge for Surrey man
Police in Surrey say a 38-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder, 18 months after the shooting death of 37-year-old Troy Michael Regnier.  Surrey R-C-M-P say the B-C Prosecution Service has charged Justin Bos in Regnier's death.  

Second degree murder charge for Surrey man

Ceasefire needed in Gaza as civilian casualties mount, Manitoba premier says

Ceasefire needed in Gaza as civilian casualties mount, Manitoba premier says
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is asking the federal government to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Kinew says Israel has the right to exist, and Hamas must be destroyed, but the growing destruction and famine in civilian areas must stop.

Ceasefire needed in Gaza as civilian casualties mount, Manitoba premier says

Pedestrian hit in Abbotsford

Pedestrian hit in Abbotsford
Police say a 52-year-old woman has suffered serious injuries after being hit by a vehicle at an Abbotsford intersection. Abbotsford police say the woman was taken to hospital after the collision, but no updates on her condition have been given.

Pedestrian hit in Abbotsford

Disaster aid in Fraser Valley floods

Disaster aid in Fraser Valley floods
The federal government estimates it will need to pay almost $3.4 billion for its share of the disaster recovery bills for flooding and landslides that devastated British Columbia's Fraser Valley in November 2021. But more than two years after that disaster occurred, only about 40 per cent of that has been paid.

Disaster aid in Fraser Valley floods