Fruitvale’s new affordable housing building officially has a name, Blizzard Mountain Place.
According to the President of the Lower Columbia Affordable Housing Society, Jan Morton, there were several good options suggested by the community, but they chose the one that fits the best.
“Blizzard Mountain is one of the high points surrounding Fruitvale that people are familiar with, and we thought that was a good name therefore for the building.” said Jan.
“It was an interesting process of getting to a name. We sent out messages to the public earlier in this year asking for suggestions and we got probably about close to 40 suggestions that came in through our website.”
“Some of them were kind of crazy and silly but most of them were serious and had really good potential. We shortlisted down to three or four names and ended up choosing Blizzard Mountain Place because it speaks to the local community.”
The building, located at 96 Deadmarch Avenue in Fruitvale is currently under construction, and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2025.
Once complete, Blizzard Mountain Place will include 31 one, two and three-bedroom units, a meeting space for tenants on the main floor and outdoor amenities, including a shared food garden space and a play area for children.
“We are thrilled to be working closely with the Village of Fruitvale to create new units of affordable housing for families, seniors and adults with diverse abilities. It represents an early step in developing housing and other amenities on the grounds of the former Beaver Valley Middle School. It is an excellent location for much-needed housing, with easy access to the elementary school, the recently opened childcare centre, playing fields and downtown commercial services.” said Jan.
The project is moving forward both on time and on budget, and the board were able to tour the facility.
“We’re pretty pumped to see it coming out of the ground. The foundations are all there.”
Something going on in your part of the Kootenays you think people should know about? Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
