Buying a home just isn’t in the cards for a lot of people in Vernon. Young people and college grads moving into the workforce would love to stay, but can’t afford it. Families are saying goodbye to loved ones, as children move away to Alberta and other provinces where the cost of living is lower.
Attracting and keeping nurses, firefighters, teachers, office staff, store employees and others is increasingly difficult in Vernon. These workers cannot afford to buy or rent the homes available, while developers keep building unaffordable larger homes and condo developments in urban settings.
“The math just isn’t working any more. We want to hear from Vernon residents about what they’re experiencing as they try to find attainably priced homes, and what frustrates them,” said Leonard Kerkhoff, President and CEO of Kerkhoff Develop-Build, an established B.C.-based developer who has built thousands of homes in the province during the past half century.
“We have a proposal before Vernon City Council that would create hundreds of new, attainably priced homes on our property on the Vernon Commonage. A public open house will be held May 14 and I’m excited to hear what the folks of Vernon have to say.”
The 580 Commonage plan includes 1,800 attainably priced homes complemented by additional apartments, townhomes and single-family homes. They would be centred around a convenient walkable village centre with restaurants, retail spaces, daycare, a pub, and dedicated areas for outdoor events like weddings or family gatherings. In all, 4,000 new homes would be built over two decades.
“We’re asking city council to amend how the land’s use is defined in the Official Community Plan to pave the way for this proposal. And with support from the people of Vernon who desperately need homes they can afford, we hope to get started as soon as we can. I am very passionate about our proposed solution,” Kerkhoff said.
INSPIRED BY A SOLUTION FROM THE PAST
For young families and career people today, finding a place often means renting an apartment, condo, or basement suite. There aren’t enough “right-sized, right-priced” detached houses for sale.
“In the early 1900s, you used to be able to buy and build an entire home as a kit from the Sears catalogue,” notes Kerkhoff. “These were smaller format homes, but well-designed and priced so most people could afford them. Those kit homes that our great-grandparents got from Sears were super efficient, using pre-cut materials and bringing down every dollar of cost wherever possible. We are bringing back that concept at a time when attainable housing is so desperately needed.”
Like an echo from the last century, the Kerkhoff team has created a vision seen nowhere else in Canada to build attainably priced housing at 580 Commonage Road.
The idea is to place a free-standing smaller home atop its own designated lot in the Commonage’s well-loved natural setting. “We’re not suggesting home kits here, but why not take that smaller-sized home that's ‘up there’ and gently put it ‘down here,’ on small lots between the trees in the meadows at a price point that’s unbeatable compared to condos.”
The remaining two thirds of the property would be conserved and protected from future development. “With its commanding views, the south side of the site feels like a park. Imagine pathways and trails through this natural parkland and green space,” Kerkhoff adds. “It will be an incredible and affordable place to live, just seven minutes from downtown Vernon.”
Residents are invited to visit 580Commonage.ca to comment on the project.
The public is also invited to an Open House to see project plans Wednesday, May 14 at the Vernon Recreation Centre Auditorium from 3 to 8 p.m. Watch 580Commonage.ca for details and updates.