Whistler Valley Housing Society
In 1983, local elected officials from the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) and a group of Whistler employers formed the Whistler Valley Housing Society as a non-profit organization to build affordable housing.
The Society had hands-on experience to confront the local housing needs and the municipal council of the day accepted their advice. The Society was interested in tangible action in creating new housing for employees, secured for the long term, including both rental and ownership housing. In 1984, the Society suggested to council that a market development be given bonus density in exchange for transferring zoned serviced land where they would build affordable housing. This delivered 20 affordable, self-contained townhomes. These 20 affordable units located on Sarajevo Drive in Creekside are still rented at affordable prices to this day.
In 1988, the Society continued its work by developing more affordable housing projects. In 1990, the RMOW enacted (with input and support of the Society), the “Employee Housing Service Charge” Bylaw, whereby developers of new commercial, tourist, and industrial buildings would determine the employee generation of future businesses and either build resident housing or contribute cash in-lieu to a designated housing fund. By the early 2000s this fund had reached $6 million. The Society played a key role in the RMOW’s affordable housing policies and programs into the late 1990s. In 1997 the RMOW supported forming the Whistler Housing Authority, which became an arm’s length employee housing provider for the RMOW.
The Society continues to advocate for affordable housing in our community. In particular, there are large parts of our community that are excluded from the opportunity to rent affordable and stable long-term housing. The latest chapter of the Society’s history is to introduce more social housing to our housing mix to ensure no one in our community is left behind. The Society became active again in developing affordable housing for the Whistler community once the mortgage on the development of the Sarajevo Drive properties was fully paid down. In 2023, construction began on the next building to enter our affordable portfolio on Mount Fee Rd in Cheakamus.
