The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) will not donate the parcel of land at 824 Front Street to the City of Nelson for a proposed affordable housing development.
Recreation Commission No. 5, which oversees recreation services in Nelson, Electoral Area F, and Defined Area E, voted against the land donation on June 17.
The RDCK Board of Directors approved the motion to deny the donation on June 19.
Last year, the RDCK endorsed Nelson CARES’ proposal to develop a 50-unit affordable housing complex on the 800 block of Front Street, located on the vacant five-storey lot beside the Nelson and District Community Complex (NDCC).
The RDCK owns the NDCC and a portion of the land located at 824 Front Street, while the City of Nelson owns the parcels from 818 to 824 Front Street.
The RDCK had been exploring potentially donating the land to the City to support the development, which would have been assembled into a single parcel with the properties already owned by the City, alongside an expansion of the NDCC.
This would have required the regional district to enter a lease with Nelson CARES for over 5,000 square feet of recreation space within the NDCC, if a recreation component were included in the project.
The monthly lease would have ranged from $20,000 to $25,000 for a period of 35 years.
The lease, plus operational costs, would have resulted in an annual financial commitment ranging from $250,000 to $300,000 for the RDCK – an amount that Area F Director Tom Newell, who also serves on Rec 5, says was too large a financial burden to assume at this time.
“We didn’t abandon the idea lightly, but at the end of the day, when we weighed everything, it just seemed like too large a financial commitment for too long to support the project, lease space within the proposed project, and donate land adjacent to it,” said Newell.
Nelson City Councillor Keith Page, who is also a Rec 5 Commissioner, says timelines were another concern that influenced the decision.
“Timelines are really important to this project, and we also know that planning and engaging with the public is important,” said Page.
“By the time we got to this junction, the questions around this proposal, in its current form, were not at a clear enough spot that we could say yes and go ahead with it.”
Page says the Commission will still consider future projects on the site. However, a report from RDCK Community Services Manager Joe Chirico notes that a future expansion will cost more than what is currently proposed.
“There is an economy of scale and an efficiency in construction that is lost if the Nelson CARES project is successful,” said Chirico.
The RDCK will still be involved if the Nelson CARES housing project moves forward, as the construction site will require the use of RDCK property.
Nelson CARES still needs to secure BC Housing approval for the housing project. However, without the RDCK land donation, the housing component will stand separate from the NDCC, with the land in between remaining unused.
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