“We really believe we can do something on this site that can benefit Merritt,” Anhart Housing Society’s Crystal Wiebe told city council as she presented an image of a vacant piece of land on De Wolf Way.

The group purchased the 4.2-acre plot in last July to build affordable housing for those struggling to pay market-level rent.

Shovels won’t hit the ground until the non-profit secures funding, but Wiebe stopped by Merritt to share the organization’s plan to construct 76 units of affordable housing with city council at a regular meeting on March 12.

“We have done a lot of research in smaller communities in B.C. and now across the country, and we are seeing that the small communities have kind of been abandoned,” she said, noting the organizations’ research shows Merritt had a zero per cent vacancy rate as of the start of 2019. “We really got excited because the new mayor and council here have a really good revitalization plan in this community. And that is very, very key.”

“Across the country we are seeing a real definite cry for affordable housing for people who can no longer make ends meet.” – Crystal Wiebe

In addition to sharing their vision of creating affordable housing in town, Wiebe told council Anhart is after three things to enhance their project. Support from council is number one.

“We can build the building with the current bylaw that is there, but if we want to deepen the affordability of it, and council was open to perhaps some relaxation or some additional density, it would make things more affordable,” she said.

Second is finding low-interest financing through social impact investors in the community to supplement their funding from financial institutions, such as the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and credit unions.

“I am sure there are businesses here that have an interest in having employees with good housing, and a lot of people are willing to give loans at perhaps a lower than market interest,” Wiebe said. “That really takes projects a long way as well.”

Partnering with local contractors who have a desire to help improve the community is step three, she said noting

Anhart typically asks for a 10 per cent discount on materials and services.

“If we get all three of these things it really deepens the affordability in the project and makes it better for the community,” she said.

The organizations’ leaders aim to break the cycle of poverty not only through housing, but through supportive employment, Wiebe said, noting social enterprise and community involvement are pillars of all their projects.

“Really we see there is a cycle of poverty that people get stuck in,” she said. “We have found that if we can provide social employment that helps to support people and keep people employed, we see people leaving these trends,” she said.

Anhart conducted a survey late last year to determine the housing needs of the Merritt community, and found there was a significant desire for family rental units.

The tentative breakdown for the two buildings is set at 12 studios, 26 one-bedrooms, 32 two-bedrooms and six three-bedrooms.

“Across the country we are seeing a real definite cry for affordable housing for people who can no longer make ends meet,” Weibe told council. “As the market is becoming less and less affordable people are constantly getting pushed down the spectrum. If we can fill in gap that seems to be missing, we can stop this downward flow and bring people up.”