The Hemlocks, the Whistler Housing Authority’s (WHA) newest affordable rental property, welcomed its first tenants this week in Cheakamus Crossing.
Located at 1450 Mount Fee Road, the building opened to tenants on Oct. 29. Featuring four studio, 28 one-bedroom, and 16 two-bedroom apartments, it’s the largest of the five new rental buildings the WHA has opened in Whistler since 2018, the municipal subsidiary said.
“It is a big day in Whistler when we can add to our inventory of affordable housing,” said Mayor Jack Crompton in a release. “We know that affordability and housing are two of the biggest challenges that exist in Whistler today. To see progress being made toward easing this pressure, and to see our workers have access to 48 additional secure, affordable places to call home and build their lives—it gives me a tremendous sense of pride.”
The employee-restricted rental rates at The Hemlocks are set at 30 per cent of tenants’ incomes, with set minimum and maximum rates. Minimum rents start at $1,450 for studios, $1,850 for one-bedroom units, and $2,425 for two-bedroom units.
Tenants have access to communal laundry, underground parking and bike storage, as well as individual storage rooms for each unit.
Under construction since mid-2023, the WHA said The Hemlocks came in under budget, allowing additional funds to be contributed to future WHA projects. Its next employee housing development, at 1475 Mount Fee Road, will add 104 rental units to Whistler’s housing stock.
A celebration of the building’s opening is scheduled for Nov. 15.
Although The Hemlocks represents a significant injection of employee beds, increasing the non-market rental housing the WHA owns and operates to 818 employee beds, wait times on the WHA’s rental waitlist remain lengthy. According to its website, the average wait time for a studio in 2023 was 3.3 years; for a one-bedroom, it was 4.7 years; and for a two-bedroom, 1.6 years. The WHA said there was a total of 25 rental turnovers last year.
