Despite compliance code problems and permitting issues, 20 temporary homes for seniors displaced after the 2021 floods have opened in Princeton.
Located on lots D and E in the Stan Thompson Industrial Park, the development has 10 modular units, each with two separate one-bedroom apartments and a shared laundry space. Each apartment has a kitchen, private bathroom and balcony. Landscaping is also underway to beautify the area.
A donation from the Princeton Baptist Church will ensure tenants will be provided regular water delivery and welcome packages to get them started in their new homes.
The development will provide housing to seniors who were previously living in the Silver Crest apartment buildings, which were severely damaged by the November 2021 floods.
According to BC Housing, tenants who were displaced from Silver Crest and have not been able to find housing secure housing elsewhere have been offered the option to move into the new units.
Previous Silver Crest residents will continue to pay the same monthly rents they were paying before the flooding. Any remaining units will be made available to other eligible Princeton-area seniors.
However, in February, municipal building inspector Alan Palmgren told town council members that the units appear to be substandard at this time.
“I think there are going to be a lot of repairs that need to be done, just from the age of the units,” said Palmgren, at the time.
They were built in 2007 and were previously used as industrial accommodations in the Alberta oil fields.
The province provided approximately $1.4 million for the project and BC Housing will provide approximately $32,000 in annual operating funding. The Town of Princeton provided the land for the building on a five-year lease. BC Housing is in discussions with the town and other partners to secure a permanent replacement housing project.
The name for the housing is not yet known.
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