As developments continue to be built in the south end of Nanaimo, and potentially 400 people coming to join the neighborhood, the area is expected to become ‘bustling’ in the near future.
“I think it’s already starting to happen you know,” said Sydney Robertson, Chairperson of the South End Community Association. “Definitely we’d like to see some of that bustle include things like coffee shop for, you know, some street level businesses and things in the neighborhood but we’re already seeing more people in the south end.”
Two supportive housing sites are also planned to open ‘soon’ on Nicol Street. They would house a total of around 90 units. The two buildings were announced around July last year by the BC government.
“While we all absolutely see the need for that housing, it does feel like a lot for our neighborhood to absorb. We already have a lot of vulnerable people in our neighborhood so we’re doing our best to work with that and make that as successful as possible because it’s coming. One building will be opening pretty soon and we’re also working with the city and BC housing to… We’re advocating for spreading social housing through the entire city and not having a concentration of it around downtown.”
The recent housing crisis in Nanaimo has affected the south end just as it has affected the rest of the city as well, leading to a hope the new condos going up will alleviate some of the strain.
“We see that housing prices in the south are going up. The housing prices are maybe less than some other areas of the city— and definitely way less than the housing prices in Vancouver— but there’s such a demand that houses sell really quickly,” said Robertson. “We’re seeing a lot more people buy these little houses and fix them up and live in them as opposed to people buying them and renting them. So we’re losing some rental stock and we all know people— neighbors— who’ve lost housing or are in danger of losing their housing, and it’s really hard for them to find a new place to live so I think we all see the housing crisis.”
Average rent prices in Nanaimo are currently between $1700 and $2300.
