ACTIVE INITIATIVES AND EVENTS
2018 Strategic Planning
The board is nearing completion of updated strategic goals.
BVRH Bylaw review
The board is also nearing completion of the bylaw review.
2018 Housing Needs Study
The consultant is nearing completion of the draft report.
RATES OF OCCUPANCY
Bow River Lodge 95% occupancy
Cascade House 82% occupancy
Bow River Homes 100% occupancy
Mount Edith House 100% occupancy
Community Housing 100% occupancy
Rent Supplement 100% subscription
SPECIAL PROJECTS
“This is Home”
Schedule:
Phase 1: Alberta Seniors and Housing continues to actively work on the shower
and mechanical noise issues. The number of problem showers has improved to 6
from 36. An HVAC contractor is engaged in the mechanical noise mitigation
project.
Phase 2: A public tender is underway for a Design/Build contractor.
Design:
Phase 2: This facility will be designed to meet the needs of designated supportive
living level 4 and dementia operations, including enhanced safety and careprovision
considerations. Alberta Health Services (AHS) has provided design
guidelines that the facility must consider to secure a Designated Supportive
Living (DSL) agreement, which is the goal to meet the current and future needs of
the people of the region. Next steps include Project Approvals, Project
Coordination, and negotiation of an Agreement with AHS.
Economics:
Phase 2: The current capital cost range is estimated between $16 million and $19
million; the Government of Alberta has committed $16 million to date. BVRH is
responsible for the furniture and equipment for the facility, which we will fund
through a combination of fundraising and financing, including municipal
requisition. It is expected that this development will improve our operating model
to the point that we are able to achieve much more significant economies of scale, thereby significantly reducing the need to requisition for operating costs at Bow
River Lodge in the future.
ABOUT BOW VALLEY REGIONAL HOUSING
Bow Valley Regional Housing (BVRH) is a Housing Management Body (HMB) for the
Government of Alberta. Alberta’s HMBs were created to operate and administer
provincially owned social housing facilities and programming. The Province holds an
extensive portfolio of these facilities through the Alberta Social Housing Corporation
(ASHC), serving many needy and vulnerable Albertans. Each HMB is self-governing
under the Alberta Housing Act, managing the ASHC assets in their particular region.
Each region is comprised of multiple municipalities, improvement districts, etc. HMBs
may also operate other kinds of housing and may own buildings that house
accommodation programs.
Every municipality in Alberta is a contributing member of their regional HMB. They are
required to have at least one appointee on the governing board, which is responsible for
acting in the best interests of the HMB. The board must consider the needs of each
contributing municipality in its governance of the HMB.
HMB operations are supported through various means. Tenants pay rent and/or lodge
fees, but since these are set at very affordable rates, the revenues cannot cover the costs
of operations. Seniors Lodge deficits are funded through municipal ratepayer requisitions
and provincial grants. Social Housing deficits (including independent seniors housing and
community housing) are funded by Alberta Seniors and Housing.
As the HMB for the Bow Valley region, we are responsible for social housing, as well as
affordable supportive living accommodation for seniors throughout Kananaskis Country,
the Bow Corridor, the MD of Bighorn and all of Banff National Park, an area covering
about 13,500 square kilometres. This region has two towns and seven hamlets containing
about 25,000 people. Our five contributing municipalities are Kananaskis ID, MD of
Bighorn, Town of Canmore, Town of Banff and Banff National Park ID9. The people of
the region are able to access all of the programs we offer, subject to eligibility
requirements.
We are a self-governing body. We collaborate with two provincial ministries and five
municipal governments, along with numerous local and community agencies to provide
and promote safe and appropriate housing to our region.
The BVRH Mission Statement
Bow Valley Regional Housing commits to provide accommodation services for the Bow
Valley region seniors and residents of modest means who struggle to secure and maintain
appropriate housing.
All told, we currently house, or help to house more than 400 residents of the Bow Valley
in eight permanent housing projects encompassing 36 separate buildings.
We manage:
seniors’ lodges in Canmore and Banff that currently house up to 88 residents
an expansion project underway at our lodge in Canmore will bring designated
supportive living to the region that will provide appropriate accommodations to
our most vulnerable seniors while alleviating pressures in local hospitals
seniors’ independent housing buildings in Canmore and Banff that include 62
one-bedroom apartments
58 family housing residences in Canmore
the Rent Supplement Program in the region that currently provides financial
assistance to approximately 40 Bow Valley households
We have some other great ideas!
Visioning is underway for the conversion of a 15-unit wing from lodge
accommodation to seniors’ self-contained housing for low-income independent
seniors, which will allow us to re-profile part of the Bow River Lodge site to
increase the number of senior’s self-contained units, and add other affordable
housing options.
The BVRH Vision Statement
Bow Valley Regional Housing aspires to collaborate with relevant agencies to ensure that
suitable programming that will mitigate the housing needs of our client base is available.
We will:
Make decisions and recommendations using relevant and valid data regarding
community trends and housing needs.
Obtain funding to develop infrastructure that meets identified needs for social and
senior’s affordable housing programs.
Embrace operating principles that incorporate innovation, service excellence and best
practices.
Attract and retain highly qualified and caring staff.
BVRH has approximately 39 employees based in either Bow River Lodge (Canmore) or
Cascade House (Banff). Our Administration and Maintenance Teams are based in
Canmore but serve all of our operations. We have Housekeeping and Food Service
Teams in both of our lodges.
Information is available on our website at www.bvrh.ca
