98 new affordable homes are now available in Langley
Jennie Gaglardi Place apartments are opening up two-minutes away from KPU’s Langley campus
The Jennie Gaglardi Place apartments have opened as affordable housing units near the KPU Langley campus. (Submitted)
BC Housing collaborated with the Christian Life Assembly (CLA) Housing Society to open up nearly 100 affordable homes a 15-minute walk — or two-minute drive — away from the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Langley campus.
The five-story Jennie Gaglardi Place apartment building is owned and operated by the CLA Housing Society. The homes are available for $500 a month for a studio, and up to $2,450 a month for a three-bedroom home. Rentals are open to seniors, families, and individuals, including students.
Residents will have access to an amenities room, kitchen, washroom, storage room, and laundry room. Parking, electric vehcile chargers, bike racks, storage, and outdoor eating spaces are also available.
CLA Housing Society contributed land for the project. They started their non-profit for the purposes of applying under the Building BC Community Housing Fund Program, a $3.3 billion investment, which aims to build more than 20,000 affordable rental homes for people with moderate and low incomes by 2032.
“People love the project, we think it’s very attractive. … It fits the community and the surrounding area. So we’re very proud of the end product,” says Peter Fassbender, president of the CLA Housing Society.
The land, valued at $6.4 million, sat empty for 48 years until the CLA Church saw the opportunity to build an affordable housing project in their community.
“It’s such a fantastic partnership to partner with non-profits because we know the important work [they] do and they understand the distinct needs of communities,” says Megan Dykeman, MLA for Langley East and parliamentary secretary for community development and non-profits.
“By partnering with non-profits, since 2017 … we’ve seen 78,000 homes that have been delivered are underway and throughout British Columbia, including more than 1,000 homes in Langley.”
Rental prices are set below the average for equivalent homes in the Metro Vancouver area, based on Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation data. For a studio at $500, comparables in Langley are minimal, with many standard studio apartments and rooms renting from $800 to $1,200.
“You can compare it to other rentals here, it’s pretty cheaper than the other places to be able to go,” says Jimaica Navarro, international student studying psychology at KPU’s Langley campus.
Navarro, who currently lives with her cousin, would like to move out eventually, but the cost of living has made it challenging. However, she says she would be able to afford $500 per month while working minimum wage 20 hours per week at a local grocery store.
“We are working to build housing, and there’s been some super exciting announcements over the last couple months about new housing projects going forward,” Dykeman says.
“[I] really appreciate every time a student takes the opportunity to share their stories, because it’s an opportunity for us to hear what students of British Columbia need to make their learning experience the most positive.”
