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ACMC Holdings and the District of Ucluelet are please to announce that the funding agreements between ACMC, the District of Ucluelet and BC Housing have been fully executed and we are now moving forward with Ucluelet’s next affordable housing project.
Under BC Housing’s Affordable Home Ownership Program (AHOP) ACMC Holdings and the District of Ucluelet in partnership with BC Housing have completed negotiations and executed the funding agreements which will allow this project to move into the construction phase. There were delays with finalizing these agreements primarily due to some internal challenges at BC Housing. These challenges led to significant delays in receiving responses and having to repeat conversations regarding the funding agreement on multiple occasions. Regardless of these challenges BC Housing, the District and ACMC Holdings are very excited about moving this project into the next stages which will result in the construction of 22 new homes for local residents and 11 new affordable rental units.
The First Light Affordable Housing Project is one of only a handful of community projects that have successfully accessed the AHOP program. Due to the complexity of the program, tri-lateral agreements, advanced sales and affordable housing requirements it was critical to ensure that the agreements were fully supportable for all parties and that the limited number of affordable housing units were accessed by local residents within the appropriate income brackets.
"Since the day this project was brought to me, I had a vision to create something different when it comes to affordable housing. Something more “Westcoast” than just an apartment building. Its always been our goal to give home owners a piece of Vancouver island they can be proud of. It’s been a long 5 years to get there from the initial discussions, but we have gotten there. Thanks to the great work on behalf of this council, the former council, BC Housing, and the district of Ucluelet staff we have the necessary approvals to move forward with First Light at Marine Drive. I would also like the thank all 22 buyers of the project who have stuck with us from the initial outset. We promise to move as quickly and efficiently to get you in your homes as fast as possible", Said Andrew McLane, President of ACMC Holdings Ltd.
“District Staff and ACMC Holdings have worked very hard to get these agreements in place. It was not a simple task but with the signing of the agreements we are very excited to see this affordable housing project move into its construction phase. Creating affordable housing is a key priority for the District and Staff will be prioritizing this project over the next months to help ensure these new homes are completed as soon as possible”, said Mayor McEwen.
The next steps for the developer of the project include site engineering, finalization of the subdivision and completing the building designs. Once those are submitted the District will fast-track review of the subdivision and servicing connections which will then allow construction to begin. At the same time the building permits will be reviewed and issued as soon as the project is ready to move into the actual construction phase of the homes. The District continues to see this as a high priority project and will be expediting the review process for the various approvals and permits so the project can advance as quickly as possible.
For more information on the First Light Affordable Housing Project visit www.firstlightucluelet.ca.
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