Dozens of new housing units open for women on Downtown Eastside

A new building featuring 52 units of affordable housing for women on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is now officially open.

The Olivia Skye building at 41 East Hastings St. cost $32 million to redevelopand will have a total of 198 units, most of which are studio apartments.

"Opening a development like this is one of the many steps to bringing some relief to the housing crisis in our province," saidB.C. Housing Minister Selina Robinson on Friday.

"It can be difficult to feel hopeful about housing or shelter in Vancouverwhen affordable housing is out of reach for so many people," said Robinson. "I know that people across this province, and especially here in the Downtown Eastside, have been struggling under the weight of the housing crisis for many years."

The building was named Olivia Skye to honour a member of the Downtown Eastside community, Marnie Crassweller. Her daughters are named Olivia and Skye.

Crasswellerdied of a fentanyl overdose in November2016, and Skye Crasswellerwas killed by an overdose last August.

The 52 apartments set aside for womenor couples where the woman is the one with her name on the leasewill cost the maximum shelter rate of$375 a month.

The building also has 68 units with rent that is adjusted to the tenant's income for people earning $30,000 to$48,000 per year.

Rent will be calculated at one third of gross annual income.

The rest of the apartments, about 21 of which are one-bedroom units, are priced at what the building's operators refer to as "low end of market."

The studios will be $1,242 and the one-bedrooms will cost $1,561.

Olivia Skye is managed by Atira Women's Resource Society. A good portion of the project's cost was shared between the federal, provincial and municipal governments, along with the StreetohomeFoundation.

"It's so refreshing to have a B.C. government standing strong with us, with a robust, bold plan for affordable housing, the federal government, now, with a national housing strategy, and showing up to deepen the affordability in all of these homes we're opening," said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson at the project's official opening.

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