Boom not fast enough
Photo: castanets / file
The old adage, “If you build it, they’ll come” may seem a bit backward when it comes to the Kelowna housing market.
In our case, they’re coming, so we’d better build it.
But while the city is at the beginning of a major construction boom, planning director Ryan Smith is not moving fast enough.
“Looking ahead, it is likely that we will see continued consumer demand. More products are coming out, but I don’t think they’re going to come fast enough, ”Smith told the city council on Monday.
“I think it will take several years for the housing permits to be granted on a permanent basis to ensure that we can meet the necessary supply.
Smith says the planning department is looking for innovative ways to get the housing supply to the right spots in the city, such as another fill challenge.
The city wants to get creative at a time when the value of building permits is skyrocketing and the number of residential units created (1,780) in the first quarter of 2021 is well above the five- and ten-year average.
Smith says the city is following a lot of big multi-family style developments, mostly in the core area of the city where he thinks the city would like to see them.
However, some of the larger projects can take 24 to 36 months to complete.
He adds that the construction time is now a little slower than the industry would like due to the shortage of materials and rising construction costs.
