Details of Jasper’s newest affordable housing proposal were finally released to the public by as the developers of Caribou Creek Housing development on Tuesday, Dec 15.

The 64-unit development, formerly known as Sweetgrass, includes three phases, and will include three and four bedroom homes designed for middle income families.

The average cost of the unit will be $269,900, and the units will have an average square footage of 1,291.

The smallest unit is 1,136 square feet in size. The largest has 1,662 square feet.

According to developer Suresh Singh, at that price, the homes in the co-op are affordable.

“The least expensive home, calculated at four per cent interest with five per cent down, would cost $997 a month over 35 years,” Singh said. “The most expensive, using the same interest rate would cost $1,240 a month over 35 years. All the units meet the affordability test.”

The units will be constructed on three parcels of land on Cabin Creek road, at the edge of town. Eleven units will sit on the first site (FX), eight three bedroom units will sit on the second site (FY), and 45 units, including a mix of three and four bedroom homes, will be on the fourth site (FW). Some units will include garages, with additional visitor parking. Zoning requires 93 parking spaces. The Caribou Creek plan creates 120 spaces.

The impetus for the project came from the town’s housing study, which called for homes for middle income families for rental or purchase properties.
“The goal was to create 80 units at $1,300 a month,” Singh said.

While the plans meet demands for the number of units required, they do not meet density restrictions for the community. The smaller lots are slightly below density requirements, while the larger lots are ‘well below’ density requirements, Singh said.

The design of the project is similar to the Mountain Parks co-op units, Singh said, keeping with the overall look of the area on Cabin Creek.

“This is a simple design. The building rises with the land and its similar in form to the Mountain Parks Co-op,” Singh said.

In order to qualify for the units, applicants must work in Jasper, have retired in Jasper or have ancestry with leaseholds in the community. The development currently has 128 people registered on its waiting list.

With construction set to begin in April, Singh said the first few homes should be inhabitable by the end of 2010, and the development should be complete and inhabitable by 2011. The smaller developments will be finished first.

“We have enough crews to start between six and eight units at a time,” Singh said.

The buildings will also be constructed to a gold build green standard, according to Singh. Build green is similar to the LEED building standard. While there has yet to be a guarantee as to what standard will be used, Singh said the development will be sustainable.

Mayor Richard Ireland praised the work of the board of directors for helping the development move forward, calling housing a ‘critical need’ in the community.