Chief Agnes McCoy Centre Now Open Providing 39 New Affordable Homes For Indigenous Families

New affordable homes open for Indigenous peoples in Cranbrook

TDS News – New affordable rental homes are now open for Indigenous peoples in Cranbrook British Columbia. This is thanks to a partnership between the Province, Columbia Basin Trust, the Aboriginal Housing Management Association and the Aqanttanam Housing Society.

“These new homes will provide much-needed affordable housing, thanks to the partnership offered by urban Indigenous peoples and leadership demonstrated by the City of Cranbrook,” said David Eby, Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing.

“We will continue to work in partnership with Indigenous communities and municipalities to build affordable homes like these throughout the province, and we continue to call on the federal government to fulfil its responsibilities and match our funding to build even more much-needed housing for Indigenous peoples, both on- and off-reserve.”

Located at 520 B Hurry Ave. N.W., the Chief Agnes McCoy Centre provides 39 new homes for Indigenous families, Elders and individuals. The three-storey wood-frame building provides one-, two- and three-bedroom homes with monthly rents ranging from $555 (one bedroom) to $838 (three bedrooms). People moved into their new homes in January.

The building is named in honour of the late Agnes McCoy, an elected Chief and respected Elder from Aqam. Chief McCoy was also one of the founders of the Aqanttanam Housing Society, which operates the building.

“The Aqanttanam Housing Society board of directors and staff would like to express how proud we are with the new Chief Agnes McCoy Centre,” said Cecilia Teneese, executive director, Aqanttanam Housing Society. “The new centre will house Indigenous and non-Indigenous low-income and homeless individuals, couples and families needing affordable housing.  Our Aqanttanam Housing Society mission statement is to provide suitable affordable housing for low-income households and the completion of Chief Agnes McCoy has helped us to achieve that.”

The Province provided $7.8 million for the project through the Building BC: Indigenous Housing Fund, a 10-year, $550-million investment to build and operate 1,750 new homes, on- and off-reserve. With this commitment, B.C. became the first province in Canada to invest provincial housing funds into on-reserve housing, a federal jurisdiction. B.C. has also taken the unprecedented step of opening up all provincial housing programs to First Nations.

The Aqanttanam Housing Society provided the land valued at $520,000. The Columbia Basin Trust provided a $454,200 grant for the project.

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