High real estate prices in the Greater Victoria area are making it difficult for middle-income families to become homeowners. While there are strategies that can make homes more affordable, municipal regulations and traditional expectations concerning community development often discourage such practices.

In 2001, the Bethune Flex-Plex Townhome Project, an affordable housing development in Saanich, was launched to offer affordable housing options for low-income families. The project also set out to challenge development regulations that were barriers to building low income housing.

Completed in the spring of 2010, the Flex-Plex includes five townhouses plus three smaller rental units within the townhomes. The secondary suites provide accessible housing for adults with a disability or low-income seniors, and are “mortgage helpers” for the townhouse owners.

Setting out to be a model for affordable housing developments in other regions, the Flex-Plex has been a truly innovative project. Three of its most noteworthy aspects were inter-agency collaboration, municipal regulatory reform, and an overall focus on environmental sustainability.

Collaboration

The Flex-Plex project involved a diverse group of partners, without which it would not have been possible. The project began with exploratory conversations between the District of Saanich and the Victoria chapter of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA). Upon receiving a grant from the Affordability and Choice Today program (a joint partnership between the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, CHBA, and the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association), CHBA approached BC Housing to help them secure one-and-a-half abandoned lots of land.

Concerned that the new townhouse owners would flip the units for profit, involving Habitat for Humanity Victoria as a partner gave the organizations involved the assurance they needed that the homes would go to the appropriate candidates. Habitat for Humanity is committed to eliminating poverty housing by building affordable homes and providing interest-free mortgages in partnership with families in need. With 72 affiliate chapters in Canada and a worldwide network in 110 countries, Habitat selects families according to level of need, willingness to partner with the Habitat program, and ability to repay a no-interest mortgage. Additionally, Habitat expects the families to contribute 500 hours of labour, or “sweat equity”, to the project. Habitat Victoria managed the selection process and oversaw the construction of the townhouses.

The federal and provincial governments were also partners in the project, contributing $144,000 and $500,000 respectively. Both levels of government have made social housing a key initiative on their agendas.

Law reform

Over the course of designing and building the Flex-Plex, the District of Saanich aimed to change regulations that have traditionally been obstacles to building more affordable housing options. Recognizing that affordable housing projects demand a relatively high degree of innovation, Saanich used its hands-on involvement to pinpoint the issues, zoning bylaws, and development standards that need to be reevaluated when developing affordable housing. Not only is the Flex-Plex project an example of how single-family zoning can accommodate multiple families, but it is the first time that the District of Saanich endorsed zoning that allowed for secondary suites.

The District of Saanich hopes that the results of its active participation in the Flex-Plex project will persuade other BC municipalities to also get involved in their own communities’ affordable housing projects. It will publish a case study and final report to encourage replication of the model elsewhere.

Environmental

Currently up for a national “best in class” energy efficiency incentive program, the Flex-Plex integrated sustainable building techniques into the project. BC Hydro worked with the developers to ensure that the units met Energy Star Gold status. As well, Victoria’s European Flooring donated $10,000 in eco-friendly hardwood flooring to the building. Some other sustainable measures taken include low volume faucets and low flush toilets; a car share program; minimal tree removal; and 80% of the finishing is from recycled material.

In January 2009, the Vancouver Island Business Examiners awarded CHBA and Habitat Victoria the “Innovator of the Year” award. In June of the same year the Great-West Life, London Life, and Canada Life National Award for Leadership in Sustainable and Affordable Home Building honored Casey Edge, Executive Officer of CHBA, for initiating the project and gave $25,000 to the project. These funds were used to install solar hot water and a porous driveway, further contributing to the sustainability of the project. 

In 2007 the Real Estate Foundation awarded Habitat for Humanity Victoria an $85,000 grant to support the Bethune Flex-Plex Townhome Project. Reflecting the Foundation’s commitment to advance knowledge and practices leading to more sustainable use and conservation of land in British Columbia, the Flex-Plex project is an example of innovation and collaboration, a forward-thinking model for developing affordable housing in other regions of the province.

To read more about the Flex-Plex housing project, visit Habitat for Humanity Victoria's website [click here] and Canadian Home Builders’ Association's website [click here]

To learn more about the environmental standards of the Flex-Plex housing project [click here]

Story by Elysha Ames