Anhart Community Housing Society had conditional approval on a $14-million loan, but the CMHC added a new condition leading a non-profit housing project to be halted
Through the Rental Construction Financing Initiative, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation lends money on a 10-year term, with up to a 50-year amortization period, at low rates.A small Vancouver non-profit has halted construction of 70 new low-cost apartments in the Downtown Eastside, after the federal Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation imposed stringent new requirements on a crucial construction loan.
“It’s a missed opportunity for people in that neighbourhood we are trying to help,” said Keith Wiebe, Anhart’s co-founder, who convened a community meeting Wednesday to develop strategies to save the project. In late April, the organization was expecting to receive a letter of intent from CMHC. But three days later, according to Mr. Wiebe, CMHC issued new conditions, including the requirement for a 100-per-cent guarantee on the loan – the kind of condition a private development company can easily meet by putting up other buildings in its portfolio as collateral. But Anhart doesn’t have that kind of portfolio.
And they easily meet the program’s affordability requirements because, according to an analysis Mr. Pomeroy did for the Centre for Urban Research and Education, CMHC officials are using a very different definition of affordability from what had previously been the standard. Vancouver Councillor Michael Wiebe said he’s baffled by what happened to Anhart. “This is the exact type of project that should be able to get this financing,” he said.
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