The vision of the Whistler Valley Housing Society (WVHS) started soon after Whistler Village and Blackcomb opened in the fall of 1980 with the northside expansion of Whistler Mountain. The mountain operations, accommodation, restaurants, and other businesses meant the number of employees required to keep the resort running exploded. There was no new residential housing built to allow for these changes until 1983, when a group of business owners got together to form WVHS and built 2178 Sarajevo Dr., which opened 40 years ago. Until the Whistler Housing Authority was formed in the late ’90s, WVHS continued to advocate for and build employee-restricted housing.
The WVHS board had the vision to recognize that we could use the equity from our 40-year-old employee-housing building to buy a lot and finance a new one. Garry Watson was one of those board members and 2178 Sarajevo Dr. will be re-named in his honour.
Thank you to all the board members that have served over the years—your efforts contributed to this day.
The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) allowed WVHS to participate as the only non-WHA employee-housing provider in Cheakamus Crossing Phase 2. WDC received the occupancy permit June 26. Thank you for the efforts that are put into employee housing. WVHS was able to negotiate new housing agreement policies such as permitting tenants that are legally able to work in Canada—not just citizens or PR.
WDC built the project on time and on budget. We are so fortunate to have this expertise in our community. Thank you to the WDC board, staff (Rob Laslett) and contractors for your efficiency and excellence.
Thank you to our tenancy advisor Jessie Abraham and to our property manager Mountain Country, and in particular Gina Ciccone, who ensured our tenants could move in June 28.
Thank you, tenants! WVHS is happy to have you settled in the Nest. We hope that you find your home as welcoming and cosy as the name.
This building was built at a time of high building and financing costs. Unless you are directly involved in rental projects it’s difficult to comprehend how a non-profit developer and housing provider struggles to make rents affordable. GST alone adds 3/4 million to the cost, which is added to the mortgage, and in 30 years, tenants will have paid more than double that amount. WVHS will do whatever it can to continue to advocate for affordable rentals for the full spectrum of housing needs.
We can say we have built social housing, but if it isn’t affordable for social service clients—is it social housing?
