Members of the Okanagan Indian Band will be seeing 16 new affordable housing developments in the near future.
Located at Lot 48, Head of Lake Road and Lots 230 and 231 Pebble Park Lane on Okanagan Indian Band Reserve No. 1, the project will provide rental homes for Indigenous peoples and small families with moderate to low incomes.
The development will have one and two bedroom homes in four two storey buildings, and four of the 16 homes will also be wheelchair accessible.
“Our government is proud to be working with the Okanagan Indian Band to help support their goal of increasing the number of members living in their community,” said Harwinder Sandhu, MLA for Vernon-Monashee. “We will continue to work in partnership with Indigenous organizations and First Nations to build homes like these to ensure that Indigenous peoples can live in their communities, surrounded by their culture.”
The project is set to incorporate culturally appropriate design elements to showcase the Okanagan Indian Band’s culture, including a large-scale art piece by an Okanagan Nation artist for prominent display in one of the four buildings.
BC is the first province in Canada to invest provincial housing funds into on-reserve housing, which is a federal responsibility. The province will be providing $1.7 million from the Building BC: Community Housing Fund for the project, and the OKIB will own and operate the building.
“Housing is always in short supply on reserve so the additional fourplex units will certainly help ease the housing situation,” said Chief Byron Louis, Okanagan Indian Band.
“The additional housing will help meet immediate needs while providing longer-term options for people who live on reserve, and also for people who want to move back to the reserve. Housing helps bring the community closer together, which helps to preserve our culture and our unity. This housing will help on many fronts.”
Homes are expected to be complete and open in Spring 2022.
The Okanagan Indian Band is still seeking an artist from the Okanagan Nation to produce an original art piece, for more information on the project contact Martina Lewis: martina.lewis@okanagan.org.
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