A site that’s been earmarked for an affordable housing project dating all the way back to 2005 finally looks ready for liftoff in Ucluelet, though the developer has cast a wider net to find willing buyers in higher-than-anticipated income brackets.
The district called a special meeting on March 14 with the First Light affordable housing development the only item on the agenda as the town’s council needed to approve an increase in the maximum household income allowed to purchase a home in the proposed new neighbourhood to $191,000.
The development consists of 33 modular homes at Lot 13 on Marine Drive and First Light’s website suggests they were available to residents of Ucluelet, Tofino and Electoral Area C with prices ranging from $365,000 to $500,000.
In a letter reviewed by council prior to approving the increased household income requirement, the project’s developer and president of ACMC Holdings Andrew McLane said it took five months to generate 22 presales of the homes. He added that 26 offers have been accepted since the process began, but four of those collapsed due to the buyers not qualifying for financing.
“On average it took 5 weeks for subject conditions to be satisfied where on a regular house sale the average is 2 weeks. This is not a straightforward purchase,” McLane wrote.
He suggested the average income of the 22 buyers is $91,365, but noted four potential buyers have household incomes between $119,000 and $151,000. Those latter four necessitated the special meeting being called for council’s deliberation as past agreements between the district, developer and BC Housing had capped the maximum household income for the homes at $119,000.
Director of Community Planning Bruce Greig explained the project was first pitched in 2019 and council authorized an agreement with the developer in December, 2023, but tweaks around how affordable the homes will be necessitated a new conversation.
“Essentially we’re back here today for some re-authorization of some tweaks to the agreement,” he said.
Greig said 22 of the homes are expected to be sold in conjunction with BC Housing under the Affordable Home Ownership Program and the remaining 11 will become long-term rentals, subject to a housing agreement and covenants around the rental rates.
He explained the owners of the 11 rentals will be prohibited from living in them and must follow a set list of criteria to ensure “the right people are benefiting from it.”
Greig noted the property has long been slated for affordable housing dating back to an agreement between Weyerhaeuser and Ocean West nearly 20 years ago.
“There was a covenant back in 2005 that was put on Lot 13 that said it will be used only for affordable housing, zoning allowed for affordable housing and it defined affordable housing as the CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) definition of people making 80 per cent median income spending no more than a third of their income on housing,” he said.
He added that, at the time of the initial rezoning, questions were raised around what the financial cap restriction should be, noting that time went by and the lot sat vacant with no housing constructed until developer Andrew McLane reached an arrangement with Weyerhauser “to take it on,” leading to McLane’s 2019 proposal.
McLane found success with BC Housing’s Affordable Home Ownership Program, though questions around the maximum household income remained and the site’s successful rezoning in 2020 broadened the definition of affordability to try to capture more income levels.
“That went from a $68,000 household income level to $85,000 to $95,000 depending on the size of the unit was the range being proposed at that time,” Greig said.
He said the district has supported the development with about $650,000 from its Affordable Housing Reserve, which is funded through the online accommodation portion of its Municipal and Regional District Tax Program—formerly known as the additional hotel room tax—revenue.
“BC Housing matches that,” Greig said. “The additional support at that time last March was to cover some of the additional costs. Basically, it’s offsetting the costs of servicing, building the road and the water and sewer lines, but also some of the additional work needed to make sure the site is safe from flooding.”
Last year, council supported a proposed target of household incomes in the $88,00-$97,000 range and council heard in June that the project had been approved by the BC Housing board, though more detail was then hashed out around construction costs and interest rates.
“They were wanting to make sure of, ‘Do we have a target where people can actually qualify for the mortgages to purchase these?’ So, at that time, there were some adjustments and they were talking about the range of $96,000 - $119,000 total household income as being what would be the target audience of eligible buyers within Ucluelet based on Ucluelet incomes,” Greig said.
“That $119,000 maximum household income is the language that we put in the first agreement which we drafted and gave to BC Housing in July.”
Council again authorized an agreement for the same maximum $119,000 household income in December of 2023.
“We made it clear to them, if there’s any change in this, it needs to have council support because we need to be transparent about what the expectation is,” Greig said.
He suggested median incomes in other communities “can be quite a bit higher than it is in Ucluelet” and that the standard household income is around $191,000 to qualify for BC Housing projects.
“We said, ‘Wait a second, that’s quite a bit more than what was expected all the way along,’” he said.
He noted McLane had sought potential buyers and that a significant majority of the accepted presales fall within the agreed-to $119,000 household income with the average of all of them coming in around $91,000.
“The language in the agreement would allow them to move forward with those four buyers who have more than the $119,000 and all the 18 other buyers who have qualified and have accepted offers,” he said. “If a deal falls through and they need to go back, they want the flexibility…If they’re unable to find another buyer, as long as they stay within that BC program, they want to have the flexibility to be able to broaden the pool.”
McLane’s letter to council suggests that if any of the current presale holders back out, their now unclaimed home would be marketed for 60 days in hopes of finding a buyer with less than $119,000 household income.
“That has a two month window. If they can’t find a buyer, then they can look and potentially consider an offer from someone who makes more money,” Greig said.
He added that while the agreement was not exactly what the district had expected, the homes would represent a variety of income levels.
“There’s quite a range of incomes that are represented, I think, in the buyers and as we know, housing is needed across the spectrum in Ucluelet. So, I think overall, it meets housing need.”
He suggested a typical timeline for the development could be around 12-18 months with variables including the construction and delivery of the module homes and the developer successfully coordinating the subdivision.
Council’s vote in favour of the new agreement was unanimous.
Coun. Jennifer Hoar said she appreciated the timeline Greig had provided in his report, noting that the final item on the list is a block party to celebrate the new homes.
“I’m looking forward to the block party,” she said. “I think we’ll all be looking forward to it.”
Mayor Marilyn McEwen added her excitement.
“I honestly thought these would be built and lived in by last year, but we got it done. Congratulations Mr. McClane,” she said.
McClane attended the meeting via Zoom and thanked the district for its support throughout the process.
“Thank you to the district staff for continuing to make this a priority and to council for believing in this project. It’s been five years since we’ve taken it on and we’re looking forward to moving forward,” he said.
“We’ll look forward to watching you move forward,” McEwen responded.
Don’t miss out on reading the latest local, provincial and national news. Join our community and receive daily news alerts & breaking news, right to your inbox. www.westerlynews.ca/newsletters.
READ MORE: Ucluelet Co-op axes housing and daycare project over district’s delays
READ MORE: Concerns developing over new neighbourhood proposal in Ucluelet
READ MORE: Ucluelet council denies developers’ request to delay apartments