Greater Victoria Housing Society
330 Goldstream is a six-story affordable rental building in the fast-growing island city of Colwood. Made up of more than 100 homes, it’s beautifully built and energy efficient. And it provides both safety and long-term affordability for vulnerable people facing an uncertain future.
“We opened this building and then 30 days later we had a heat dome. Then we had an atmospheric river, then we had another warming event. And so we have to be resilient.”
Virginia Holden, Executive Director of the Greater Victoria Housing Society
Built out of B.C. timber and designed to withstand extreme weather, 330 Goldstream keeps residents safe and comfortable in a wide range of temperatures. Solar panel ready, the building features industry-leading Swedish heating, cooling and ventilation technology.
And yet the units rent far below market rates. This allows a broad mix of working people, families, single parents, newcomers to Canada, seniors, people with disabilities and at-risk youth to have secure housing close to public transit, schools and amenities.
Threshold Housing Society works to prevent young people in Greater Victoria from becoming unhoused. The nonprofit manages three units in the building, helping youth from the West Shore to stabilize their lives and access support close by.
“It is a beautiful purpose-built modern building, and so the pride for the young people who get to call that place home is incredible and that matters. If we want to see a reduction in people who are unhoused in our community, we have to focus on youth.”
Colin Tessier, Executive Director of Threshold Housing Society
The building is part of an ambitious strategy by the Greater Victoria Housing Society to scale up non-market housing across the region. “They were bold in identifying five or six projects all at the same time, and trying to secure funding and financing to move those projects forward,” says Irene Gannitsos, Director of Strategic Investment at Vancity Community Foundation.
“They came to us for initial funding to provide that bridge financing and to help meet equity gaps that were required to unlock construction financing for their projects,” says Gannitsos. 330 Goldstream received an early stage grant and pre-construction loans from the Vancity Affordable Community Housing Program.
Virginia Holden credits that investment with making 330 Goldstream possible: “Without this kind of patient and flexible and nimble capital, these projects just don’t happen.”
With a longer payback period and higher tolerance for risk than most commercial lenders, the Vancity Affordable Community Housing Program gives projects time and space to pull together all the pieces they need to succeed. It also allows nonprofits to move multiple projects forward at the same time.
Greater Victoria Housing Society has 200 homes under construction, with another 500 units awaiting development. But Holden says in the last three years, building costs have doubled. “The longer we wait, the more expensive these projects become.” With affordable market rentals disappearing, Holden says all levels of government urgently need to fund more nonprofit community housing.
Colin Tessier agrees. “Sadly, the numbers of unhoused youth in Greater Victoria continue to rise year over year. It is a literal crisis. We need to define it as such. Anything we can do to help to disrupt that known pathway to future harm and trouble is a good investment and a good place to focus energy.”
Tessier says this project serves local youth who would otherwise have to bus into the inner city to access housing or services. “Having 330 Goldstream come online in the West Shore allows young people to stay in the communities where they’re going to high school, where their friends and family are, and where their supports might be.”
Virginia Holden says the whole project was designed around that idea. “In the past, buildings like this would have been more in the City of Victoria or closer to Saanich. But people want to be close to their families and where they grew up, so they can fully engage as members of those communities.”
The Vancity Affordable Community Housing Program is working to make that possible at a larger scale. Pre-construction costs like design, land closure and permitting are often 10 to 15 per cent of a large housing project. By offering early-stage grants and loans, the program helps nonprofits unlock construction financing, including loans and government funding. It’s a proven formula for getting more affordable housing built more quickly.
“We believe that it’s a viable and impactful investment opportunity for institutional investors, for foundations, and for individuals who are really committed to using their capital to drive community change and address housing affordability.”
Irene Gannitsos, Director of Strategic Investment at Vancity Community Foundation
Since its inception the Vancity Affordable Community Housing Program has helped 63 different organizations build 70 community housing projects, creating more than 5,600 affordable and climate-ready homes for people across B.C.
Learn more about the Greater Victoria Housing Society.