VANCOUVER – The Province of British Columbia has bought Harmony House in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighbourhood to preserve its ongoing use as affordable housing for seniors.
The province, through BC Housing, has partnered with the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. community society to purchase the four-storey, 33-unit property, located at 588 Shanghai Alley, to “preventing much-needed affordable housing from being lost to the private market and ensuring seniors living there can remain in their homes and neighbourhood,” a provincial government release stated.
“By purchasing these 33 homes we are ensuring that seniors in Vancouver continue to have access to an affordable place to live and are able to stay in the community they call home, close to loved ones and the services they rely on. This purchase is another example of the work our government is undertaking to protect the existing housing stock we need to keep our communities whole, while also building new housing at a historic rate,” Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon said.
An independent appraisal of the site was completed in March 2023 which supported the purchase price of Harmony House of approximately $16.4 million. BC Housing and Vancouver Coastal Health provide approximately $1.3 million in combined annual funding to residents of Harmony House through the Independent Living BC program, supplements which provide subsidized, assisted-living housing with support services to seniors and people with disabilities.
S.U.C.C.E.S.S. will own the strata units to “help to safeguard the homes against the future risk of a third-party sale” the release said and will continue to operate the building.
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