New Rossland, B.C., city hall opens with affordable housing on top

Residents of a new housing complex in Rossland, B.C., won't have to go far to pay a parking ticket or find out when garbage pickup is — because the apartments are situated right on top of city hall.

The development, known as Rossland Yards, is a four-storey building that has the new municipal headquarters on the ground floor and three levels of affordable housing units above it. 

City staff moved into their new workplace this week and, according to Mayor Andy Morel, the 37 apartment units should all be filled by the end of the year.

"To see it through was really a godsend for our community," said Morel, speaking to CBC's Daybreak South.

The building, located at 1920 Third Ave. in the mountain community, around 150 kilometres southeast of Kelowna, is on city-owned land.

The housing component, operated by the Lower Columbia Affordable Housing Society, includes 21 one-bedroom units, 12 two-bedroom units, and four three-bedroom units.

Tenants will pay their rent to the society and that money, according to Morel, will go toward the mortgage for the upper three storeys. He said the city hall's construction was completed within the $3 million budget allocated to the project years ago, after the former city hall's roof caved in in March 2018.

"After five years of temporary locations for our staff and council, it feels pretty great," said Morel.

But not everyone in the city has been excited about Rossland Yards.

According to reporting by the Rossland News, more than 350 people — about 10 per cent of the city's population — signed a petition in 2020 calling for a referendum on the project. That petition was sent to the provincial housing ministry with a letter that opposed the city hall part of the development.

The B.C. government did not approve the request for a referendum.

"I would say that building a new city hall is not the most favourable project," said Morel. "There is no question that maybe it made it more palatable to have designed the affordable housing into the project as well."

B.C. Housing, the Columbia Basin Trust, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities all provided funding for the affordable housing units.

Tenants at Rossland Yards must work in the city or be recently retired after working in the community.

According to the Lower Columbia Housing Society, the target population for housing are individuals, couples and families with incomes ranging from $30,000 to $80,000.

The first meeting of Rossland city council in its new location will be held on Nov. 6.