Municipality gets go-ahead for joint development with MPL

A joint affordable housing initiative between the Municipality of Jasper and Mountain Park Lodges (MPL) got the go-ahead this week, after it was announced Monday that a $3.2 million grant from the province has been approved. 

Weather permitting, construction is set to begin in the spring on a 42-unit affordable housing apartment building on MPL land near the north end of Geikie Street.

MPL will undertake the development, operate the building, and contribute both the land and $1.37 million in capital funding. The Municipality will receive the grant money and transfer it to MPL on the basis of a pre-arranged schedule and milestones, and will provide lot servicing.

The project has been criticized, however, for providing government-subsidized accommodation for MPL staff.

“This is not going to become staff housing for MPL, that’s very clear,” said Municipal manager George Krefting, following this week’s council meeting.

Mayor Richard Ireland echoed Krefting’s sentiments. Both Krefting and Ireland explained that it’s part of the agreement reached that the new units cannot be exclusively MPL staff housing, as that would abrogate the agreement and return the property to the municipality.

“The thing is, it’s going to be available to everybody. Hinton’s doing one of these as well,” Krefting added.

The one-bedroom rental units will be available to anyone in the community whose income falls below an established threshold. They will be rented on a first-come, first-serve basis, and MPL will be required to maintain an eligibility list and provide it to the municipality periodically for review.

As a condition of the grant, rental rates for the units are pre-established for a 20-year operating period.

Mayor Ireland called the development a “significant step toward meeting the community housing needs set out in the 2002 Jasper Housing Study,” in a statement released Monday.

MPL general manager Bernhard Schneider called the announcement “great news and an exciting opportunity for MPL,” in the statement. With this project everyone wins, he said, as the grant allows for much-needed affordable housing to be made available to the community.

-with files from Daniel Z. Jacobs