The government’s “innovative” approach to solving the Yukon’s housing crisis appears to be flailing as private sector interest remains tepid.
Lot 262, a parcel of land at the intersection of Range Road and Mountainview Drive, was touted by the government as an innovative approach to increasing the supply of affordable housing in the territory.
Land was made available to the private sector through a bidding process.
The plan was that the successful bidder would be required to build at least 30 affordable housing units on the lot.
The government received only two bids for the land. Both were rejected.
Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Brad Cathers said in question period Thursday that last fall, the private sector had expressed a fair amount of interest in the approach.
“Unfortunately, despite the strong interest we received from the private sector last fall during the expressions-of-interest stage, we received only two bids. Neither bid met the minimum eligibility requirements,” he said.
“They asked for subsidies that were far beyond the scope of the tender, so we will be evaluating the situation, including talking to those who indicated interest last fall to determine why they didn’t submit bids — whether it was factors such as the increase of properties that are on the market and under development right now, uncertainty related to the city process, site conditions or details of the tender specifications.”
NDP housing critic Kate White said the housing crisis is the most significant issue in the territory today.
“This approach seems to be in danger of failure, and there is a need to reflect and evaluate.
“Yukoners want to hear what this government has learned and hear how it intends to use the tools at its disposal to get affordable units built sooner rather than later,” said White.
Cathers said the government is aware that with any new approach, there needs to be an evaluation process.
“At this point in time, we are reviewing the situation, including talking to those who indicated an interest in this property last fall to try to get a clear understanding of why they didn’t submit a bid,” he said.
White asked when Yukoners would see real action on the housing crisis. Once again, she noted that the “government has $13 million in federal, affordable housing dollars sitting in their bank account.”
While Cathers did not respond to White’s mention of the $13 million, he did say the government has taken action in the past and will continue in the future to correct the housing situation.
“There was an increase of some 40 per cent in social housing stock through Yukon Housing Corporation during the previous mandates,” he said.
“There is continued investment under the leadership of my colleague, the Minister responsible for Yukon Housing Corporation (Scott Kent), and my colleague, the Minister of Community Services (Elaine Taylor), has, in this year’s budget, approximately $35 million for investment in developing land,” he said.