The Phoenix Transition Society is planning to build a 14-unit social housing project on three vacant lots on Zelkwas Avenue.
On Monday, city council approved first and second reading of a rezoning for the lots located behind, and owned by, Trinity United Church located on Fifth Avenue. However, final approval was postponed until the lots can be consolidated.
In a letter to the city, planner Hillary Morgan of M'akola Development Services – which is acting as an agent on behalf of the society – said the society already operates three housing facilities in the city
"The proposed rezoning will allow the Phoenix Transition Society to expand their existing
Harmony House operations," Morgan wrote. "Harmony House is a safe house whose mission is to provide support to pregnant women and new mothers struggling with mental health and or addictions."
Harmony House offers 24-hour staffing, including registered nurses, early childhood education workers and support workers, the society's website says. The goal of the program is to help women transition to independence and providing safe and caring homes for their children and themselves.
"The Phoenix Transition Society is a non-profit society that offers temporary shelter/housing for women and women with their children who have experienced and/or at risk of abuse and violence," Morgan wrote. "The Society offers emotional support, crisis intervention, safety planning, children support, referrals and specialized outreach."
The lots have no history of use, and are covered with grass, weeds and an asphalt area not used for parking by the church.
Funding for the project is being provided by BC Housing, and the project is expected to be a two-or-three-storey building, built using modular construction methods to speed up construction.
