Update from Sal Robinson & Judy Osburn
Since our article was published on July 22, new information has shed light on some of our unanswered questions regarding the 20% floorspace devoted to homes for households with “moderate” incomes, according to City of Vancouver guidelines.
• Does HousingHub’s partnership with Jameson really limit the market rent rates to those that hospitality workers, seniors and artists can afford?
No. And this is a provincial, not city, issue.*
• How many below-market rental units will L2 bring to the neighbourhood? 12? 13? 14?
It will bring 14. Why couldn’t we figure that out before? Because the floorplans published on the L2 site in early July did not include the basement level, where three BMRs (and no other units) are located, facing the lane. BMRs are supposed to be distributed throughout the building, so we didn’t think to look for three together on an undocumented level. We’ll know better next time.
At the far left of the first photo is the entrance to the parking garage. Behind the wooden reel are the side-by-side doors to Units 30 (a 472 square foot 1-bedroom) and 20 (a 686 square foot 2-bedroom). At right is Unit 10, a 544 square foot 1-bedroom, below ground at the southeast corner of the building.
• Which two of them, if any, are the 3-bedroom units intended for families?
Units 107 and 205 are being advertised as 3-bedroom units.
• If no 3-bedroom units were included, what happens to the Housing Agreement between Jameson and the City?
Two 3-bedroom units are included, and we missed them because they are identical in size and shape to 2-bedroom unit 305. At 815 square feet, unit 305 rents at $4099.
• How would a person or household know that BMR units exist at L2 if there is no sign of them on the website?
That wasn't clear when we published our article, but L2 now has a page for BMRs. The waitlist is full (when or how that happened, we don't know) and no applications are being accepted.
* Our July 22 article has been the impetus for quite a few stories in the media about the
provincial government’s rhetoric on affordability. See Carol Volkart’s commentary.
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