The District of 100 Mile House Council is lending their support to the 100 Mile House Seniors Housing Society in applying for funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund.
The project that the 100 Mile House Seniors Housing Society is trying to get funding for is a 33-unit seniors rental housing facility, which is supposed to offer a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units for able-bodied and disabled residents at a mix of affordable and market rates. The Green Municipal Fund by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is a fund which "exists to enhance the quality of life for people in Canada by accelerating a transformation to resilient, net-zero communities" according to its website.
The condo project had initially been in the works for around two years before 2022 after a B.C. company approached the 100 Mile Lions Club about building a seniors' centre.
"Under the Lions constitution, they couldn't do it. So we formed a society, and many of the Lions are in this society, and we put together a constitution - one thing and another," Donna Barnett, the president of the 100 Mile House Seniors Housing Society and a councillor with the District of 100 Mile House, explained. "We have been working for the past three years to try and obtain provincial and federal funding to get this project done."
In 2023, however, the project was put in limbo after the unnamed B.C. company stopped communicating with the 100 Mile House Seniors Housing Society.
Barnett said the project is still in the same state as it was two years ago.
"We're waiting to get the funding they keep telling us is out there from federal and provincial governments to move forward," Barnett said.
It should be noted that while working with the unnamed company, before all communication from the company ended, they had been in the middle of applying for a $150,000 grant from the National Housing Co-Investment Fund. However, no funding application was ever completed or submitted.
Barnett said this time they are applying for around $30,000 to get moving with the project but added they need more.
"We need around $300,000 to get the planning, the architectural work and everything done. But if we can get the $30,000 it will certainly help us to move a little quicker in obtaining other funding," Barnett stated.
Barnett also added she hoped they would be successful in obtaining the funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund. If they are successful, their plans are to begin the planning process, among other things.
"And to continue to apply for funding, for the bigger amount of funding, to get the whole project ready," Barnett said. She reiterated she wants to get the project done as soon as possible.
During the Feb. 25 District Council meeting, Mayor Maureen Pinkney stated that the project had been in the works for a while, so it was a nice step forward.
With files from Kelly Sinoski and Fiona Grisswell.
