Substandard flooring is further delaying an affordable housing development in downtown Whitehorse that’s already a year over schedule.

The Yukon Housing Corp. (YHC) says the 47-unit development at the corner of Jeckell Street and Fourth Avenue was originally planned for completion last fall.

That became evident after a subcontractor installed flooring that will need to be replaced to get up to standard.

Asked about the delays Thursday, Ranj Pillai, the minister responsible for the YHC, said the project is still expected to be completed by the end of this year or “late fall. 

“We are in under extensive pressure in the Yukon and specifically Whitehorse when it comes to housing stock,” he told reporters.

“I’ve asked the lead at Yukon Housing, the president, to ensure that we move as quickly as possible if there’s a way to phase in people moving in, and we’re doing flooring at the same time, maybe floor by floor, let’s do that.

“They’ve said to me it could be as late as January to get it all done and I’ve gone back and said, ‘please, we need to get this worked on and completed.’ And they’re pushing for November to start having people move in.”

In an email to the Star, however, spokesperson Julie Menard said the YHC, which learned of the flooring issues Sept. 23, doesn’t have a specific timeline for when the work will be completed.

“We are working with Wildstone on the timeline to get this resolved as quickly as possible,” she said. 

Wildstone Construction and Engineering Ltd. was awarded the contract for the development in May 2020.

It subcontracted the flooring company that has installed the substandard floors. The YHC did not name that company when asked.

Additionally, Pillai said the YHC has sought advice from the territory’s Justice department on how to fix the flooring without costing Yukoners or adding excessive delays.

“Part of our reason for ensuring this work gets done now is because I still understand that the contractor has the responsibility to complete this work with the appropriate product,” he said Thursday.

“It’s in their hands right now and it’s their responsibility. And that’s why we’re in this balance of trying to make sure we get value for taxpayers’ dollars, while at the same time ensuring that we can get folks in there as soon as we possibly can.”

Prior to the flooring issues, the project was already dragging along over-budget.

Last March, when the project was already months past its original deadline of the fall of 2021, Pillai had promised the complex would be finished by mid-July.

That date came and went – and now the development is projected to cost $21.7 million, up from the original budget of $18 million.

In question period in the legislature Wednesday, Yukon Party MLA Yvonne Clarke asked Pillai to explain the previous delays and rising costs.

Pillai primarily blamed them on COVID-19 precautions. 

“We were flying in contractor staff from time to time who were not local staff on the job,” he told Clarke.

“We were putting them up while they were getting ready to come into work, making sure that they had that isolation period, so certainly, that added to some of our costs.”

The added delays come at a time when the Yukon’s wait list for social housing is growing.

An auditor general’s report released earlier this year found 463 applicants were on the list in 2021, up from 112 in 2015. The report also found people on the list were waiting an average of 1.4 years before finding housing.

When the development at Jeckell and Fourth opens, its 47 units will include 30 bachelor or one-bedroom units, 12 two-bedroom units and five three-bedroom units.

It will house seniors, families and single people of mixed-income currently on the YHC waitlist.