After a landmark year that saw the Whistler Valley Housing Society (WVHS) open its first rental building since 1984, the rejuvenated non-profit is turning its sights to the complex that started it all.
The society held its annual general meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10, offering a snapshot of a non-profit that, after opening The Nest this summer, a new rental building in Cheakamus Crossing, now looks to upgrade its 40-year-old complex at 2178 Sarajevo Drive.
Renamed Watson Court in honour of former WVHS executive director Garry Watson, who died last year, the aging, 20-unit complex is in need of costly repairs.
“Really, the focus is the bones of the building,” said WVHS board member John Elliott. “We’re really looking to, if possible, get to the roof, and as some tenants have mentioned, windows are also a big issue. If I can say there’s one area of focus, it would be those two items.”
The society estimated the cost of roof upgrades at approximately $700,000, while window upgrades would cost about $5,000 in each necessary unit, hefty price tags for a non-profit with little financial wiggle room.
“We want to improve the building—and we don’t have a treasure chest for that,” said board chair and local Councillor Cathy Jewett. “We want to look at that building as a whole and make it a comfortable place for people to live.”
One Watson Court tenant who tuned into the AGM via Zoom expressed concern on behalf of several tenants who wanted more information on the process of selecting new occupants for the complex after a three-bedroom unit turned over earlier this year. Watson Court is managed by Mountain Country Property Management, which would typically handle tenancy, and the unit was also posted online. Watson Court tenants must meet the Whistler Housing Authority’s eligibility as a local worker to be considered.
Jewett said part of the quick turnaround was because the society can’t afford a vacancy given its financial situation. “We’re trying to do something to keep our revenue flowing in because we’ve got some big payments to make,” she said.
Watson Court tenants currently pay about $1.70 a square foot in rent, compared to $3.50 for social service workers and $4 for essential workers at The Nest, said treasurer Greg Newton, who added rents are likely to go up at the Sarajevo Drive building when new tenants come in after the planned upgrades.
“I don’t think we expect to get up to the $3.50 that we’ve got at The Nest, but given the longevity and rent controls, it’s certainly lower than what we would like given the costs we’ve incurred as far as taxes and insurance," Newton said.
For the fiscal period ending Sept. 30, the WVHS counted just over $19 million in assets and more than $16 million in long-term debt. It currently has $1.88 million in net assets.
Tuesday’s AGM also offered insights into the makeup of The Nest, which opened in July as Whistler’s first-ever rental building allocating a portion of its 30 units based on social need. Ten units are allocated to local social service agency clients, two units to former Watson Court tenants that were overhoused, seven applicants from the WHA rental waitlist, and 11 units to essential service workers. Of those 11 units, the society said four are filled by daycare teachers, three by public safety workers and police, three by medical professionals, and two to workers from local social service providers.
“You can see there’s a really broad range of professions there and a diverse mix of tenants, which really does speak to our mission of providing housing for the diverse needs of the community to ensure that nobody’s left behind,” said board member Marco Zunino.
