WHO IS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY VICTORIA
Habitat For Humanity Victoria (HFHV) is a charity working within the Capital Regional District and Southern Gulf Islands. We've been active in Victoria since 1990, supporting families by building homes they can afford to buy and offering special financing terms that keep those homes affordable. We are part of a national federation of 45 affiliates from coast-to-coast-to-coast.
A Habitat home offers a family a solid foundation for creating strength, stability, and independence. Affordable home ownership paves the way to positive intergenerational change as it lifts home buyers out of dependency on social supports and subsidies. The Boston Consulting Group conducted a study in 2015 that quantitatively showed that each Habitat home creates a social return on investment (SROI) of $175,000.
CHALLENGES
HFHV employs three distinct strategies to deliver affordable homes, including self-developed housing (where we are the general contractor), purchasing built units from market developers, and forming equity partnerships for specific projects. Therefore, HFHV faces the same challenges confronting market developers, such as expensive land, high construction costs, and lengthy approval processes. In addition, HFHV is challenged by our charity status and continued focus on homeownership rather than affordable rentals, namely, by lack of capital, limited access to construction financing, and little or no government funding (provincially or through CMHC).
In response, we've become more creative with the financing aspect of our homeownership program for working families. Once complete, Habitat homes are purchased by qualifying families who can carry a conventional mortgage of up to 60% of the purchase price of the finished home. Habitat Victoria holds a zero-interest second mortgage on the balance. This structure provides the flexibility to cap the household's total housing costs at 30% of income, adjusted annually.
As government funding is not guaranteed, you may have noticed us fundraising constantly, seeking donations of cash and goods from the public and local businesses. We are enormously grateful for support from the construction industry, who generously donate products, time, labour, and use of their equipment. With rather less success to date, we also lobby different levels of government for a share of building funds typically dedicated to rental properties, and for exemptions from various fees and taxes that non-profit rental housing providers currently enjoy.
CURRENT PROJECT
Land donations, once our mainstay, have become scarce. So HFHV purchased land on Feltham Road (Gordon Head) in 2023. We are currently working through approvals at the District of Saanich.
Building ground-oriented, family-sized, three-bedroom units is an expensive proposition anywhere, and out of the question on such a costly lot. Our plan is to build instead a 14-unit stacked townhouse project consisting of 13 3-bedroom units, 1 1-bedroom fully accessible unit, along with site amenities including a car share, bike pavilion, and an outdoor shared space. Our latest project is truly the definition of "missing middle, infill housing" and as those familiar with the real estate development process on Vancouver Island can attest, we're receiving the expected level of resistance to "gentle densification" from many quarters. By necessity, we're now getting creative with how to reduce construction costs while still meeting Net Zero requirements. All suggestions are welcome.
FUNDRAISING
HFHV's signature fundraising event is our annual Gingerbread Showcase, to be held at the Hotel Grand Pacific from Nov 22, 2024, to Jan 5, 2025. This year's theme is "Through A Child's Eyes", honouring children as the biggest beneficiaries of stable housing. Every year we strive to add to the interest and excitement surrounding the Showcase and the theme. Even supporters who cannot visit in person take the time to view each sweet creation online and donate to register a vote for their favourite. Last year saw 14,000 ballots cast and over $105,000 donated. Our dream this year is to exceed both numbers and get our Feltham Road project – our single largest build to date – off to a strong start.
