Construction date unclear on BC Housing’s massive, delayed Penticton project

Five years after BC Housing announced plans to redevelop a group of Penticton motels, the project has been struck from the budget and it’s not clear when shovels will hit the ground.

The Skaha Assembly project was previously supposed to start construction on the more than 600 homes by 2025, but that timeline is now up in the air, sparking frustration from Penticton city councillors.

“I guess if we had some empty condos, the province would probably find $300 billion to by them,” Coun. Isaac Gilbert said during a council meeting, exaggerating the recently announced housing programs.

That was before Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee crossed the floor to the BC NDP and joined the government, but whether she’ll be lobbying for the long-awaited project isn’t clear.

iNFOnews.ca reached out to Boultbee on July 7, but she refused to comment.

Since the province announced the project in 2021, Boultbee briefly sat on Penticton city council before she was elected as MLA for the area with the BC Conservative Party.

Her former colleagues at Penticton city council were frustrated with delays from BC Housing.

“It’s like that movie Groudhog Day, it’s like the same thing with respect to talking about BC Housing. Here we go again,” Coun. Ryan Graham said, referring to repeated tensions between the city and the Crown agency.

He mentioned the housing targets the province gave to various municipalities including Penticton, suggesting the municipality is paving the way for development while Victoria hasn’t held up it’s end of the deal.

“We do everything in our capacity as a municipality. It’s like a sick joke, these (provincial housing targets), and then they pull the funding,” he said. “To BC Housing, to that ministry and the provincial government, it’s time to get serious.”

BC Housing said it hasn’t dropped the project and still plans to follow-through with the Skaha Assembly. According to a ministry spokesperson, the project is “not paused,” but the “timeline of funding” is adjusted.

“We recognize the need to redevelop this site and to add units in the Penticton area, and we remain committed to delivering them in a way that works for the community,” a BC Housing spokesperson said in an emailed statement to iNFOnews.ca.

How much has been spent so far on the project isn’t clear, but the Medow Lark, Suna Valley and Mayfair motels were purchased for $7.9 million in 2021. The fourth property, Skaha Sunrise Apartments, has been a low-income BC Housing property since it was purchased for $3 million in 2010.