It’s no secret that housing affordability is a large issue in Calgary.
According to Statistics Canada, the average price of a one-bed/one-bath unit in large buildings increased from $923 to $1,442 gradually over the last four years.
But the City of Calgary has a plan, called Affordable Housing, that works to combat these issues by partnering with others to provide safe and stable homes.
Affordable housing, also known as non-market housing, is more affordable due to public ownership by municipal governments or non-profit ownership by private organizations.
HomeSpace Society is one of the non-profit partners working with the city to provide these services.
Emily King-Moore, communications director, says they make their housing affordable by keeping rent prices anywhere from 30 to 40 per cent below the market price, which helps provide a more stable home for those in need.
The organization does not make any profit and is able to use the funding it gets to keep the prices this low.
“It’s important to be investing in affordable housing, or it’s going to become very difficult for many families to be able to survive here,” said King-Moore.
Government intervention
The Government of Canada announced in a recent press release that it is granting HomeSpace and the Trellis Society for Community Impact funding to completely gut and refurnish old, unused office spaces into stable, safe housing for Calgarians who need it most.
HomeSpace received $4.1 million from the federal government for its project, a 62,000-square-foot office building at 1000 Eighth Ave S.W.
Because home layouts differ so much from office spaces, the building will be fully reorganized on the inside.
King-Moore says this includes gutting the buildings from the drywall to the electrical and plumbing.
Successfully repurposing this building would create a total of 65 new units, 30 of which are studios and 35 are one-bedrooms.
All will be rented out under the affordable housing program.
Stigma surrounding affordability
King-Moore says that while many people support affordable housing, many don’t want it in their neighbourhoods.
“It doesn’t affect your property values; it improves safety and makes your tax dollars go further,” said King-Moore.
The office building conversion process is a strategy that HomeSpace and the City of Calgary have been using for several years.
HomeSpace also converted Neoma on 7th Avenue S.W., which is the new headquarters for Inn From the Cold, a non-profit to help people experiencing homelessness. It has 80 affordable housing units along with a childcare centre.
The city has other examples of success, like the Cornerstone building, which was completed in June of 2024. The building has 112 suites, and it shows that the office-to-home strategy really does work.
According to Alpha House, another non-profit in Calgary, the number of new affordable housing units per year since 2011 has been around 308, but needs to be closer to 2,000 to meet demand.
King-Moore says that housing is unaffordable for anyone who is paying more than 30 per cent of their income on rent and mortgage costs.
Those in need can visit Coordinated Access & Assessment (CAA) to get on the list for review for affordable housing opportunities.