CBC Lite Sections News • Canada • British Columbia • Vancouver Island Victoria backs $677K grant to convert new apartment building into co-op housing CBC News | Posted: April 17, 2026 8:05 PM | Last Updated: Just now Funding is contingent on the applicant receiving federal support that would help keep most units below market Image | 611 Speed Street in Victoria Caption: Victoria city council has approved funding to help convert an apartment building on Speed Avenue into co-operative housing. (CHEK News) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab Victoria city council has approved more than $677,000 in funding to help convert a newly built apartment building into co-operative housing, a model the city says could improve affordability for moderate-income residents. The grant, which comes from the Victoria Housing Reserve Fund, was approved unanimously at a committee of the whole meeting on Thursday. It will go to the Midtown Affordable Housing Society to support the purchase of a 179-unit building at 611 Speed Avenue near Mayfair Mall. The building, Tresah West Apartments, was originally built as strata housing but following council's latest approved funds support, it will instead be operated as a housing co-op. Co-op housing involves buying shares in a corporation that owns the property. In strata housing, the owners own their individual strata lots and together own the common property and common assets as a strata corporation. Strata property owners can act as landlords and rent out their strata lot. * More stories from Vancouver Island During the meeting, staff made it clear that the grant agreement requires the non-profit to meet certain terms set out by the city's director of planning and development and the city solicitor. Under the agreement, at least 176 of the units should be set aside as below-market co-operative housing for households with moderate incomes for 60 years. Likewise, the funding will only be released if the non-profit secures additional, non-refundable funding from another level of government. LISTEN | Is co-op housing the answer to the housing crisis?: Media Audio | The Current : Caption: A new co-op development in Toronto will provide more than 600 new units. It's the first major new co-op built in the city for decades. Across the country, waitlists for existing co-ops are years long. We talk about why residents at Helen's Court Co-op in Vancouver love where they live — and why Thom Armstrong, CEO of the Co-operative Housing Federation of British Columbia, sees it as the future way of living. Open full embed in new tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. According to the city, the applicant is seeking financing through a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation program that would lower borrowing costs. They are also pursuing up to $20 million in federal funding in the form of a forgivable loan, which would help cover costs and keep units below market. According to information presented to council, the down payment for co-op members could be about $20,000, if federal support is secured. Without it, that cost could rise sharply to anywhere between $85,000 and $100,000. * Co-ops allow people of all incomes to live affordably in cities. So why aren't we building more? "[It's] a pretty big discrepancy," said Coun. Matt Dell during the meeting. "Twenty thousand dollars may be doable. Buying in for $100,000 is a lot of money for folks, especially for only a 60-year co-op term with no equity." City housing manager Ross Soward told council the lower buy-in is the goal. * This Vancouver housing co-op is facing a $1M tax if it wants to renew its lease for more than 30 years "[The applicant] does need this forgivable loan from the federal government to drive that affordability component of the project," he said. He added the city will rely on legal agreements tied to the grant to ensure the building operates as intended and remains affordable. Councillors broadly supported the project. "What I'm seeing right here is a fairly unique arrangement where the federal government's stepping in," said Dell. "We have what I think is a really beautiful building in Tresah that hasn't worked out as a rental or a condo for a variety of reasons and finally we can put this fabulous new building to use." If the remaining funding is secured, the project would become the first new co-operative housing development in Victoria in decades. 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