The territory might be one step closer to solving its affordable housing problem.

On Thursday, the Yukon government and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council (TKC) announced a partnered project that will see a new 42-unit rental housing development built in Whistle Bend.

“This is a moment citizens of Ta’an Kwäch’än have been waiting to see for a very long time,” said Council Chief Kristina Kane.

“We are excited to come forward with real solutions for the shortage of affordable housing in Whitehorse. This will provide housing for TKC citizens as well as Yukon Housing clients.”

The First Nation’s development arm, the Da Daghay Development Corp., is planning the construction of the building, which will feature one- to three-bedroom apartments.

The project is aimed to offer employment, training and mentoring for Ta’an Kwäch’än youth.

Though partnered with the territorial government and the Yukon Housing Corp., it is the Da Daghay Development Corp. that will run the building and be the “landlords.”

Tenants in the 42-unit building will consist partly of Ta’an Kwäch’än Council citizens, and partly of social housing clients.

“In looking at the partnership with Yukon Housing, one thing we do with the landlords is the rent supplement program,” said Mary Cameron, acting vice-president for the Yukon Housing Corp.

How the rent supplement program works is by first looking at the median rental rate in the territory.

The housing corporation pays the median rental rate to the landlord – in this case, the Da Daghay Development Corp.

Those residing in the building on social housing pay the landlord 25 per cent of their income.

“That’s the affordable component,” Cameron explained.

In the territory, there are currently just over 800 social housing units.

“We have approximately 105 individuals on our waitlist to get into social housing, just in Whitehorse.”

The priority for the new building will go to those already waiting.

The rent supplement program will not apply for all units.

TKC citizens in the building may operate on a different affordability model, though the number of First Nation citizens compared to Yukon Housing clients has not been released yet.

“As for the choice for who gets to move in first, I don’t have that answer,” Stacey Hassard, the minister responsible for the Yukon Housing Corp., told reporters at Thursday’s announcement.

The development touts itself as being both affordable and “super green”, a term designated to homes rating high on Natural Resources Canada’s EnerGuide evaluation program.

“When your home is tested for efficiency, it finds out how much heat is retained,” said Cameron.

“The idea is that the higher the rating, the more efficient your house is,” she said, adding that extra efficiency also equates to cheaper heating costs.

The Da Daghay Development Corp. and the Yukon government arranged a land swap for the project.

The cost for the project has yet to be determined.

Ben Asquith, the CEO for the Da Daghay Development Corp. indicated that a request for proposals will be put out in a couple of weeks – for design specifically.

“Once they’ve established the design, they’ll have a better scope of the cost,” Cameron said.

The project is slated for completion in the summer of 2017.

A news release states the development corporation and Yukon Housing are working to secure additional financial support for the project.

Cameron noted that Asquith may be able to secure funding from the government’s Municipal Matching Rental Construction Program – a grant partnership between the government and City of Whitehorse.

“If the city has added the tax incentive break of $100,000, we match that with a capital grant,” Cameron said.

The program was introduced last April.

“There is that potential, but it is based on his eligibility,” she said.

If the building goes forward and becomes truly affordable, it may lessen the burden for low-income individuals and families to find adequate housing.

In the government’s Housing Action Plan released last June, it acknowledged there is a challenge in the area of affordable housing – but also noted that there is limited understanding of the population and demographics at that end of the housing continuum.

Yukon was ranked as “poor” for overall affordability in the recently released Canadian Rental Housing Index.

More than one third of renters in the territory spend more than 30 per cent of their income putting a roof over their heads.

Thirteen per cent of Yukoners shell out more than half of their paycheques for rent – an amount that the housing index deemed “crisis-level spending.”

The Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition was one of the groups that supported the compilation of data drawn from the 2011 Canadian census.

“It mostly just confirmed what we’ve been saying all along: we have a housing affordability problem,” coalition co-ordinator Kristina Craig said at the time.

The coalition is delighted with Thursday’s announcement, co-chair Bill Thomas said in an interview this morning.

“Hopefuly, it’s a sign that the territorial government realizes we need to do more of this,” Thomas said.

“Any sign that we’re moving in that direction has got to be a good sign.”