Williams Lake Development benefits from Housing Incentive Program

 Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

A local developer has received a reimbursement for building costs associated with a new multi-family development in Williams Lake. 

The Housing Incentive Program, launched by Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) in 2019, was aimed at creating density in the northern region’s very tight housing market. The program provides a reimbursement to the developer once an occupancy permit has been issued, at $10,000 per door. The minmum project size is a four unit development, to a maximum of $200,000 in rebates available. 

Williams Lake is the first community in the NDIT’s region to take advantage of this program. Local developer 3Gen Construction has just completed a new four unit townhouse at the Hamel Road complex. “This program helped us with the decision to take on the build, and the $10,000 a door incentive tipped the scales for us to go for it,” says Tyler Boucher, co-owner of 3Gen Construction. “It also allowed us to keep our crews employed all last winter and into the spring, and there are now four new homeowners in town, so the benefits to our community reach beyond our company and our bottom line.”

NDIT’s CEO Joel McKay says that he is pleased to see the uptake on the program for smaller communities like Williams Lake. “It is good to see that this program is working and making a difference in smaller communities where making the case for density is harder to do,” says McKay. “The housing crisis in the north has far-reaching impacts to our local economies, and the intent of this program is to help to increase the stock that is available, by incentifying developers to look at projects through the lens of density design.”

“Programs like this give us more tools in the kit when we are working with the development community,” says Beth Veenkamp, Economic Development Officer at the City of Williams Lake. “We are taking a very proactive approach to increasing our available housing in Williams Lake, and being able to provide information on a range of incentives available to developers helps to move ideas into reality.” 

Mayor Walt Cobb is thrilled that Williams Lake is the first northern community to successfully utilize this program, and was pleased to present the rebate cheque to 3Gen Construction. “We are serious about getting housing development happening, and are putting a lot of effort into creating the conditions necessary for developers to join us in creating solutions,” states Cobb. “There is always going to be a good market for single family housing, but we are really focused on how to maximize the little land that we have available in the city to house as many people as possible. This progam from NDIT is a really good reason for developers to look at projects a little differently than they are used to, with density in mind.”

For more information on the range of incentives available to developers, please contact the City of Williams Lake’s Economic Development Office at 250-392-2311