Image credit: Propolis Housing Cooperative

By Aaron Schulze

Housing Cooperative

Non-profit housing cooperative buys first property on Kamloops North Shore, aims to open affordable rentals

Apr 3, 2024 | 12:45 PM

KAMLOOPS — A non-profit housing cooperative in Kamloops purchased its first property on the North Shore.

In a news release issued Wednesday (April 3), Propolis Cooperative Housing Society says the property it purchased at 422/424 Tranquille Road will become a non-market, six-storey mixed-use development. The society says it will include 50 affordable residential units and 9,300 sq. ft. of commercial space on the ground level.

The residential units will be net-zero, meaning they will only use as much energy as they produce from renewable sources. The society says all residential units will operate as non-profit cooperative housing and are targeted to be priced at 80 per cent of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s median market rents in Kamloops.

To acquire the property for the $945,000 price tag, the society says it secured a combination of financing from community bonds and impact and investment funds. It includes $576,300 in Propolis Bonds of its total target to raise $1.1 million. The society is continuing to raise the remaining $523,700 to support loan refinancing through its community bond campaign.

“It is humbling to see the rally from community members to support development of more affordable and sustainable spaces in B.C.,” Lindsay Harris, Propolis president says. “We are so thankful to our 70+ community bond investors who could have gotten involved to finance our property acquisition. Their contributions have enabled us to unlock further capital from impact and investment funds, allowing us to make this timely purchase. By nature of a cooperative, we’ll be able to keep rents below market rates for 100 per cent of our units and build a sense of community at a time when residents are being priced out of their homes.”

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Next steps for Propolis include the designing phase and obtaining a building permit. The society hopes to have occupancy for its first building by late 2026.