Winnipeg Free Press
Sunday, February 26th, 2006
By Jino Distasio
IN a recent View from the West column, Shauna MacKinnon concluded that the Kapyong base housing should not only be given away, but be further subsidized by Canada Mortgage and Housing. While the author made many valid comments in pursuit of this end, the main argument is simply too weak to go unchallenged.
While there is little doubt that the need for additional and subsidized housing is acute, providing a small number of single detached homes is not a viable long- term economic solution. The long-term costs of maintaining and managing this stock alone would make it much more challenging than in a higher density project consisting of primarily townhouses or apartments. In fact, the present quality of the base housing is also questionable in terms of its overall condition and need for repairs prior to making them habitable.
A far more appropriate use of this housing is to ensure that the Canada Lands Company (CLC), which plans to develop the land once control is transferred from the military, fulfils its mandate and returns to the taxpayer the highest value for this asset. With that said, the only real option is to sell these units at a fair market price in an open and transparent manner. "Fair market value" would most likely mean selling the homes to first-time buyers or persons with modest incomes. If one looks closely at the composition of the base housing, the bulk of these units are less than 900 square feet, with a number of duplexes and triplexes interspersed, making them an excellent and affordable option.
The size and type of housing currently on the base presents an opportunity for addressing the shrinking number of affordable shelter options for working families and individuals who are also being priced out of a rising housing market. In Canada it is estimated that there are over 600,000 working poor individuals, many of whom are struggling to find reasonable shelter in the red hot national housing market. In Winnipeg, according to the 2001 Census, there were just under 15,000 working households that spent more than 30 per cent of their monthly income to pay for shelter (paying anything over 30 per cent is considered the first sign of an affordability problem). What is disconcerting about this number is that it is really only after 2001 when Winnipeg's housing market took off with record sales volumes and price increases. The most frightening aspect of this is that the incomes of working households did not escalate at anywhere near the rate of increase in the resale housing market.
So what this has translated into is that more and more working households are struggling to find affordable shelter options, especially if they want to enter into home ownership.
While it is difficult to argue that the needs of working households outweigh those of non-working low-income households, the true question is whether the vacant base housing better serves the needs of one group over another. Perhaps a comparison can be drawn with a similar and successful marketing of homes in the Jameswood development, which were at one time leased to the military and then eventually sold off by the private sector. This development, located in St. James, has proven to be quite popular. During the initial marketing phase, housing sold for well under $100,000. Today, prices have appreciated in value and remain a popular choice for buyers while building equity for those who purchased units earlier. What was also popular about the Jameswood approach is that the initial buyers of the homes were given a range of options for "renovating' and "upgrading" the units to suite their taste that included choosing paint colours, flooring and other amenities.
Therefore, the most practical solution is to provide the military housing to working households who not only want to enter the home ownership market but also wish to build some equity. The Kapyong location is also ideal in providing working households with an attractive location that is well connected to public transportation and other needed amenities. With the entire site consisting of 70 hectares, there is tremendous potential to address a number of community needs including building new and subsidized units as well as adding higher valued housing.
One of the most intriguing aspects of this massive site is the potential to create diversity in terms of housing types and costs, businesses and amenities that could perhaps become one of the most exciting areas of the city. Taking a more comprehensive planning approach will ensure that providing shelter to those most in need also comes with the supports and services that are so desperately needed. The unfortunate part of this is that it will take time and that does nothing to address the overwhelming level of need that exits today.
The final point to this counter-argument is that perhaps CLC should be required to be much more creative in the development of the site by being asked to use a portion of the profits of the sale of the land and assets to fund the construction of additional units that could be marketed as co-ops, subsidized or even transitional housing. This option would greatly enhance the quality of affordable housing and services that could be built right and target a range of people with shelter needs.
Jino Distasio is director of the Institute of Urban Studies at the University of Winnipeg.