A former school play field should soon be teeming with children again, now that the City of Port Alberni has approved construction of apartments and townhouses behind Uchucklesaht’s Nucii Building on Redford Street.
The Uchucklesaht Tribe Government purchased the former Redford Elementary School in 2018. They renovated the facility, turning it into office and meeting spaces. The playing field behind the property has remained unused for years.
An Alberni Valley housing needs assessment final report was competed in February 2021. The assessment noted that in 2018 there were at least 147 people experiencing homelessness. It is not known what that number is today.
But other factors are contributing to housing issues, including the low vacancy rate and rising residential housing price tags. The Alberni Valley Housing Needs Assessment final report states that low vacancy rates means people must choose expensive or inadequate and unsuitable housing options. With an aging population, more people are living alone
And with bigger mortgage payments, new homeowners are modifying their homes or properties to make additional living quarters for renters, also known as mortgage helpers.
The proposed development at 3830 5th Avenue would see 112 dwelling units in a combination of apartments and townhouses. According to a drawing submitted to the City of Port Alberni, the Uchucklesaht Development Corporation plans to build an apartment building and townhouse structures complete with parking spaces, both surface and underground. The proposal notes there will be some street parking.
“Our proposed family-friendly 112 units development includes a mix of housing that ranges from studios, one and two-bedroom suites in the apartment complex through to one, two, and three-bedroom townhouse units,” said David McCormick, the Uchucklesaht Tribe Government's economic development manager.
He went on to say that the development is planned to contribute to the community’s much-needed workforce rental housing stock, “both for those already living in the Alberni Valley who need housing, and for those wishing to move to the community to take jobs in the skilled trades, professional services and health care fields; as key examples. We know housing is a challenge to attract and retain such needed professionals to the community.”
Port Alberni City Council entertained the proposal for a zoning amendment that would change the lot designation from institutional to residential at a November 2024 meeting. There were concerns raised by homeowners in the neighborhood that there wouldn’t be enough parking for the number of residential units being constructed, and the height of the buildings would impede their views, but the mayor and council agreed that the need for housing was important.
On November 12, the City of Port Alberni's council considered the zoning amendment and Official Community Plan amendment for a multi-family residential development at 3830 5th Avenue. The council agreed to give third reading to the amendments, but also put a no-build covenant on the lot until a parking lot was constructed at the neighboring Nucii building.
The third reading will take place at a future City Council meeting. It could receive final adoption at that same meeting.
