The Gulf Islands Seniors Residence Association (GISRA) is a non-profit society founded in 1998. We built and have operated Meadowbrook (38 units of supportive affordable seniors housing) on Atkins Road since 2003. We also own the 3.43-acre property at 154–164 Kings Lane, that houses the Salt Spring Island Health Centre. For over two years, since cancelling the original seniors’ project planned for that site, we’ve been working to move forward on a two-part community project:
1. 50 units of affordable rental housing (workforce-focused, with some homes prioritized for other long-term residents), and
2. Expansion of the health centre (clinic)
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Here is an update on where things stand now.
1) Affordable housing: what we’re hoping to build and who it’s for
Our hope is to build 50 affordable rental homes with a mix of unit sizes from studio apartments to 3-bedroom units.
Our goal is affordability for a range of incomes on Salt Spring, with rents currently projected to range from about $600 to $2,700, depending on unit type and household income.
The housing is specifically for existing long-term island residents and employed workers.
2) Clinic expansion: a parallel project, planned and funded separately
The clinic expansion is a separate (but coordinated) effort. We have a Memorandum of Understanding with the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation (LMHF) and have also been in discussions with the Island Community Clinic Society, a registered charity created to improve primary care on Salt Spring. We understand that additional doctors are willing to relocate to Salt Spring, if they can join with other doctors in a community clinic. Currently, clinic space for more doctors is the limiting factor and we have the capacity to fix that.
Another key step for the clinic is creating a separate lot through subdivision, so the clinic and housing projects can each move forward on their own lots.
3) Major milestone: rezoning is now complete
A major piece of work completed: On February 12, 2026, the Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee adopted a bylaw that changes our property’s zoning. This updated zoning allows:
• Affordable housing without age restrictions (our previous zoning restricted us to seniors’ housing),
• Expansion of the existing clinic (Salt Spring Island Health Centre),
• Subdivision to create a separate land parcel for the clinic, and
• Additional potential community uses (e.g. a daycare, other types of offices).
This rezoning was essential groundwork, without it, neither part of our project could proceed to the next steps.
4) “Behind the scenes” progress: site studies, design, servicing, and permits
We have completed a large amount of early design work, including:
• Environmental and archaeological assessments, geotechnical studies, stormwater work, and groundwater licensing.
• Schematic building, civil and landscape designs for the housing project
• Preliminary design discussions regarding clinic expansion.
• Preliminary sewer design work, and a commitment from the CRD to extend its sewer line to our property.
• Two licensed groundwater wells with sufficient volume for the housing, and NSSWD agreement to provide water for fire protection/sprinklers.
• Conditional approval from the NSSWD for community water for the clinic expansion.
On the permitting side, our next step is to obtain a Development Permit for both the housing and subdivision parts of our project. Islands Trust planners have agreed to combine the housing and subdivision Development Permit (DP) applications to help streamline the process. Our team have been developing the drawings for our application and we expect to apply this month.
5) Partnerships and planning for housing
GISRA is working with partners, including the Lookout Housing and Health Society to take on operations of the housing project, once it is built.
We also have an expert design team in place (architect, civil engineer, surveyor, landscape designer).
6) Funding: what’s committed, and the key challenge we’re facing
Obtaining funding is the most difficult part of the housing project, currently estimated at a cost of over $20M. We believe we have about half of this amount covered (mortgage financing, funding and commitments)
It may help to know what GISRA has already contributed. GISRA is bringing the project site itself - the Kings Lane land equity (valued at $1,485,000) - plus over $130,000 in GISRA cash equity and fundraising committed to date, along with substantial on-going volunteer, governance and project-management effort to reach the ‘shovel-ready’ stage that is so important for funding.
Some important commitments are in place, for which we are very grateful:
• The CRD has provided critical and significant support to our housing project: $5,000 Grant-in-Aid, $100,000 pre-development funding, $80,000 in building permit fee relaxation, and $600,000 in Community Works funding to extend the sewer line to our parcel.
• Salt Spring Island Foundation: $100,000 capital grant plus operating support to enhance affordability, should other funding fall into place.
However, the major barrier remains senior government capital and operating funding. Building costs are extremely high, and feasibility is impossible without significant senior government grants or, failing that, other sources of funds.
We’ve recently faced a major shift in the funding environment. GISRA applied to BC Housing’s Community Housing Fund (CHF) last July (for $8.9M + operating subsidy) but we have since learned that this program will not proceed due to provincial budget constraints. We are also advised that BC Housing’s BC Builds funding is negatively affected by the new budget. These decisions have gutted plans for affordable housing projects across the province.
The federally funded Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC] Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) has also been discontinued, and we were not successful in securing any of the final 2025 allocation.
We are carrying on despite these setbacks and are now exploring other options, including discussions about further support from the CRD and opportunities under the new federal Build Canada Homes initiative.
7) What’s next for 2026
Our near-term work program includes:
• Submitting the subdivision application to create the clinic lot (we expect to apply this month, with approvals later in the year).
• Submitting the Development Permit application(s) (target this month).
• Advancing the sewer connection application to the CRD.
• Finalizing and registering required covenants, including a covenant that supports the interests of the Tsawout First Nation in cultural monitoring.
• Continuing funding discussions so we can move into detailed engineering work once we find a source of capital funding.
• We also plan to explore whether there is sufficient community interest to help “bring this project home” through a locally led fundraising campaign to support the affordable housing component of the project.
Closing: thank you, and please stay tuned…
We know this project matters to Salt Spring: our two goals of stable housing and expanded space for doctors are tightly connected. We know our site is in a key location that can support both. And we appreciate the support of every sector of our community. We have heard repeatedly that affordable housing and primary health care are the most important needs for Salt Spring today and that our Kings Lane site has the best chance of addressing those needs.
We’ll keep posting updates as key milestones are reached. Community support continues to matter, especially as we work to close funding gaps created by changes to senior government programs.
Email: info@gisra.ca
