Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / Cheam View United Church at 45835 Spadina Avenue in downtown Chilliwack is pictured. BC Housing says it is working with a Mission-based non-profit housing society to deliver 74 units of subsidized housing for low- and moderate-income families, seniors and people with mobility challenges in downtown Chilliwack. However, it's unclear exactly when the project will gain the necessary rezoning permits from the City of Chilliwack, or when an environmental assessment of the property belonging to Cheam View United Church on Spadina Avenue will be completed.  

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Downtown Chilliwack housing project

Still no timeline for downtown Chilliwack housing project previously announced in 2021: BC Housing

Oct 4, 2023 | 7:47 AM

CHILLIWACK — BC Housing says it is working with a Mission-based non-profit housing society to deliver 74 units of subsidized housing for low- and moderate-income families, seniors and people with mobility challenges in downtown Chilliwack.

However, it’s unclear exactly when the project will gain the necessary rezoning permits from the City of Chilliwack, or when an environmental assessment of the property belonging to Cheam View United Church on Spadina Avenue will be completed.

BC Housing spokesperson Tim Chamberlin wrote in an email last week to Fraser Valley Today that the provincial Crown agency has been working with the Mamele’awt Qweesome Housing Society to deliver an affordable rental housing project at 45835 Spadina Ave., property owned by the Cheam View United Church. The project, a proposed 74-unit, six-storey building for low- and moderate-income families, seniors and people with mobility challenges, was previously approved under the January 2021 Community Housing Fund funding call, Chamberlin pointed out.

Back in June 2021, Chilliwack MLAs Kelli Paddon and Dan Coulter touted the advent of 74 units of subsidized housing that were supposed to be coming to Chilliwack.

“These 74 new homes will ensure that as Chilliwack continues to grow, there will be affordable options for seniors and folks with mobility challenges,” Coulter said in a June 2021 news release. “As a person with a physical disability, I know how important it is to fund housing projects like this that meet specific needs. I’m looking forward to seeing this project come to life.”

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Paddon was equally elated for the housing announcement.

““Mamele’awt Qweesome & To’o Housing Society have been providing services in the Fraser Valley for over 30 years,” Paddon said in a June 2021 news release. “It’s always a bonus when we can partner with community leaders, and these new units will help eliminate some of the barriers that seniors and people with mobility challenges face when trying to access affordable housing.”

BC Housing spokesperson Tim Chamberlin says the project team is working through the required project development process with the City of Chilliwack, including finalizing the building design. The rezoning and development permit applications have been submitted to the City. The site also requires completion of an environmental assessment because it previously housed an auto repair shop.

“BC Housing will communicate the construction timelines to the community once known,” Chamberlin said.

Chamberlin did not offer any kind of specific timeline for the Spadina Avenue project, but did add that 475 homes have been delivered, or are underway, in Chilliwack since 2017. That’s the year the BC NDP formed government under then-Premier John Horgan.

Those 475 units include the following:

• The Interchange at 45466 Yale Road, the former IHOP, where there are 82 units of housing for very low-income individuals. It is operated by Ruth and Naomi’s. The BC government purchased the former Travelodge and IHOP restaurant and converted it into housing.
• A 23-unit project at 46600 La’:le’m Way where there are 23 units/homes for low- to moderate-income individuals. Tzeachten First Nation is the housing operator. The development consists of 5 buildings with one, two and three-bedroom homes.
• A housing project underway at Rowat and Trethewey Avenue, approximately one block west of Shandhar Hut on Young Road, where there will be 90 homes for individuals. Phoenix Drug and Alcohol Recovery and Education Society is the operator. It is slated to open in spring 2024, BC Housing reported last month.
• The proposed 74-unit housing project at 45835 Spadina Avenue where Cheam View United Church is currently located. Mamele’awt Qweesome Housing Society will operate the building.
• The Paramount building project at 46187 Yale Road where there will be 66 units of housing, including 58 units for seniors and eight for young adults. It is scheduled to be completed in 2024. Chilliwack Community Services is the designated housing provider when the building opens next year.
• A 16-unit project at 46003 Mellard Avenue just east of Central Elementary and Young Road. It is operated by the Cyrus Centre and is designed for very low-income individuals.
• A supportive housing project at 45944 Yale Road, behind Mr. Lube and close to the A&W fast food restaurant. It includes 46 units. Raincity Housing and Support Society operates this facility.
• A 46-unit housing project at 45880 Trethewey Avenue, just a block east of the housing project being built at Rowat and Trethewey. Raincity Housing and Support Society operates this building.

Of the housing projects listed above, almost all are located near Yale Road or Young Road on the north side of Chilliwack, with the exception of the project at 46600 La’:le’m Way