Location of 1180 Sun Peaks Road, near the Burfield Chairlift, which is denoted by the red dots.(Image Credit: BC Builds)

By Victor Kaisar

Sun Peaks Housing

Local developer to build first-ever municipally-owned rental building in Sun Peaks

Apr 17, 2025 | 6:00 AM

SUN PEAKS, B.C. — A Sun Peaks-based developer has been tapped to build a 110-unit rental building in the resort municipality that former Mayor Al Raine referred to in his farewell note to the community prior to his passing last year.

The Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality said Wednesday (April 16) that Meranti Developments Ltd. was chosen to build the six-storey building on a vacant plot of land at 1180 Sun Peaks Road – near the Burfield Chairlift – after a review and evaluation of proposals sumbitted as part of the BC Builds program.

The municipally-owned development is a partnership between the Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality, the Sun Peaks Housing Authority, and BC Housing through BC Builds.

BC Builds aims to to fast-track the construction of “affordable” rental units on land owned by government, communities, and non-profits. While it requires that tenants pay no more than 30-per cent of their income in rent, the program itself is not geared to income.

“This program will allow us to bring the first residential rental development into the Sun Peaks community, for those who live within the community,” Raine’s successor, Mayor Rob O’Toole said.

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“It is a significant first step to addressing our housing needs.”

According to the municipality, the new development will feature a mix of studio, one, two and three-bedroom units. It will also be for permanent Sun Peaks residents and employees only.

“As part of the land acquisition with [Sun Peaks Resort], [we have] agreed to allocate 40 per cent of the future rental units to [the resort] for their long-term employees,” a statement from the Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality said.

“If [Sun Peaks Resort] is unable to fill all 40 per cent of the units, any remaining units will revert back to the Housing Authority rental pool and be available to other employees in Sun Peaks.”

While its not clear when construction will begin, the Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality says it is expected to be complete by 2026.

“I had hoped to see the employee-only rental building burst out of the ground, but it is coming along, just a little too slow for my schedule,” Raine said, in his Dec. 15, 2024 letter to the community.

More information about the development at 1180 Sun Peaks Road can be found here.