A study on the housing situation in Rossland predicts the city will need 186 additional units of varying sizes over the next five years and 623 more in the next 20 years.
Mayor Andy Morel says the study confirms there is a substantial rental housing shortage and that is not surprising, but it does provide specific information.
“As far as details of age groups, single vs family, couples vs family, multi-family,” he explained.
The study lists rents currently range between $800/month for a room, to $2,775/month for a four-bedroom house.
The average prices for homes range between $245,000 for a one-bedroom unit, to $935,000 for a five-bedroom home.
Morel says creativity and partnerships will be keys toward building new housing and keeping them affordable will be difficult.
“There has been discussions that there is potential for doing some multi-family stuff in town, but of course market housing is so expensive right now and the cost of building housing is very expensive,” Morel stated.
“To be able to do it affordably, to actually call housing affordable these days is a real challenge,” the mayor added.
Municipalities are required by the province to commission housing studies.
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