Vernon Matters file photo

By Liam Verster

Proposed 4,000 Housing Unit Development

Proposed project would see thousand of new homes, including attainable ones, built in Vernon

Feb 7, 2025 | 2:59 PM

A developer will propose building a large-scale housing project in Vernon that includes affordable housing opportunities.

The B.C.-based home builder, Kerkhoff Develop-Build, will present Vernon City Council with a plan to develop 4,000 new homes, including 1,800 affordable ones to address the local housing shortage, on a portion of Vernon’s Commonage lands.

An email from the company said 85 per cent of the local housing demand comes from smaller families with low to moderate incomes who overpay on rent, so nearly half of the planned development would have their prices set at attainable rates, as defined by the City of Vernon, so those people can enter the housing market.

The company added some of the other new homes at the site at 580 Commonage Rd. would be reserved for seniors and affordable rental housing.

“By rethinking our approach to home design and construction while preserving land for conservation, we are reintroducing attainable homes back into the market and bringing hope back to home ownership,” Leonard Kerkhoff, president and CEO of Kerkhoff Develop-Build, said in the email.

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“Too many people who live and work in Vernon can’t afford to buy their own home and are spending too much of their income on sky-high rents for multiple housing units or condominiums.”

The company added lack of housing impacts population growth, local business, and the ability to attract new families.

It also added that this large-scale project would align with the provincial legislation that mandated the city add more than 3,300 new homes in the next five years.

“By proposing this innovative new housing concept, our objective is to give hope to thousands of potential home buyers by making home ownership attainable again,” Kerkhoff said.

“Vernon City Council has identified housing diversity and economic development as priorities in its Council Strategic Plan. With our proposal for the 580 Commonage, we’re seeking the city’s support in principle to help create an inventory of urgently needed, attainably priced homes, while preserving the remaining two-thirds of the land for conservation and recreational use, protecting it from further future development.”

The developer will request an Official Community Plan amendment to redesignate the property so it could accommodate the housing at the regular Vernon City Council meeting Monday, Feb. 10.

A city staff report recommended Council support the proposal, in principle, subject to numerous requirements and commitments, and then task staff with scheduling public engagement sessions and reviews of the proposal.