Kelowna – Ellis Place Supportive Housing
Consultation has concluded
BC Housing, the City of Kelowna and Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Kelowna are working together to provide urgently needed homes with supports for people experiencing homelessness in Kelowna at 1055/1063 Ellis Street. This City-owned property is being leased to BC Housing for 10 years to build 38 modular units of housing, which will be operated by CMHA Kelowna. Ellis Place will be available to people over the age of 19 currently living in the community who have a history of or are at risk of homelessness and who need additional support services to maintain housing.
Recognizing our most vulnerable citizens face significant risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Province is expediting the plan to start construction at this site to ensure people in need have access to safe and secure housing. The current lease is for 10 years, and the property will go through the municipal rezoning process if the lease is extended beyond that.
Construction is underway and the building is expected to open in November 2020.
Housing with Support
Supportive housing is a self-contained studio home with supports provided on-site, to ensure people can achieve and maintain housing stability. Supports could include outreach workers, wellness checks, life skills training, employment assistance, connection and referral to community services and support groups. BC Housing and the housing operator will collaborate with local service providers on a thoughtful and thorough assessment process to ensure an appropriate mix of residents with the right supports live in the housing. Priority will be given to our vulnerable citizens who live in the Kelowna area. All residents would sign a program agreement and would pay rent.
BC Housing
BC Housing supports the city in its commitment to the Journey Home Strategy, focusing on ending chronic and episodic homelessness, introducing measures to prevent homelessness in the first place and implementing a co-ordinated systems approach to homelessness. We work in partnership with the private and non-profit sectors, provincial health authorities and ministries, other levels of government and community groups to develop a range of housing options. For Ellis Place, BC Housing is leading the design and construction of the housing, the resident selection and will provide operational funding to CMHA Kelowna.
City of Kelowna
Homelessness is an evolving, dynamic crisis in our community and these kinds of partnerships go a long way towards creating solutions. This strategic purchase will not only create much needed solutions in the short-term but also has long-term potential with a future land use designation for multi-story residential housing. The City of Kelowna purchased the 0.35 acres combined parcels in March for $1.8M as part of its proactive land acquisition strategy to secure key properties and leverage existing municipal land to further advance a broad range of community priorities. This strategic purchase will not only create much needed solutions in the short-term but also has long-term potential with a future land use designation for multi-story residential housing. This is a long-term land investment and in addition to being close to downtown, this property is ideally located adjacent to existing municipal park space with the potential to be used for many different civic objectives after expiry of the lease.
Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Kelowna
CMHA Kelowna, an experienced local service provider, will operate Ellis Place. Staff will be on-site 24/7 to facilitate connections to community health and support services, including life and employment skills training, health and wellness support services and opportunities for volunteer work.
Community Advisory Committee
CMHA Kelowna will be developing an Ellis Place Community Advisory Committee that will include representation from BC Housing, Interior Health, the City of Kelowna, RCMP, community organizations and community members at large. Please email ellis.place@cmha.bc.ca by October 5th if you would like to apply for a seat on this committee.
The Community Advisory Committee will:
- Build and maintain positive relationships amongst the community, the building operators and the program partners;
- Facilitate information sharing and dialogue;
- Identify and resolve any issues, opportunities and concerns related to building operations.
Your feedback and comments are important to us
We welcome questions and comments below in the Q&A tool or by email to communityrelations@bchousing.org.