Murakami Gardens Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
Read this great story, says Tanya Hutchens. The Murakami family arrived on Salt Spring Island in B.C. from Japan in 1896 and prospered, developing a sizeable farm. All that changed when Japan entered the Second World War. Canada interned west coast residents of Japanese descent and confiscated their property. Rose and Richard Murakami were toddlers when they were removed from the Island early in 1943; they remember the less-than-stellar welcome they received when they came back in 1954, the only interned Japanese-Canadian family to return.
That history didn’t deter them from wanting to help those of their neighbours struggling to afford the escalating cost of housing on Salt Spring Island. They knew from their childhood experience what it’s like to live in substandard shelter; they decided to help others as a memorial to their parents.
Among the properties the Murakamis acquired as they rebuilt their lives on the Island was an old fish plant. The first step towards developing affordable housing on the site was to secure CMHC Seed Funding–a total of $20,000, half of which was a grant, the other an interest-free loan repayable if the project succeeded.
CMHC also contributed $60,000 in interest-free Proposal Development Funding (PDF) loan. The eventual proposal was for 27 apartments–six studio units, 14 one-bedroom units, five two-bedroom units and two three-bedroom units. Because the proposal was to convert the old fish plant into housing, the project qualified for $648,000 from CMHC’s Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP). In 2006, the Murakamis approached the Salt Spring Island Community Services Society with the idea of partnering with them on the conversion the unused building into housing. The Society agreed to become the sponsor and owner-operator of the project.
The B.C. Ministry of Housing and Social Services and BC Housing provided $75,000 in PDF and a grant of $1,312,000 and interim financing of $1.8 million during construction. The Murakami gift was valued at $473,412 and the family also provided a forgivable loan of $200,000.
The Salt Spring Island Community Services Society provided approximately $100,000. The Capital Region Housing Trust Fund–Salt Spring Island is part of B.C.’s Capital Region–provided $324,000. The Real Estate Foundation of B.C. granted $50,000.
Energy and Resources Canada provided funding to cover the costs of a solar water heater. The B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources provided $15,000 toward the cost of a solar hot water system, heat pumps and upgraded insulation through its Community Action on Energy Efficiency (CAEE) program.
The Islands Trust, the provincial body responsible for planning on Salt Spring Island, agreed to increase the density it would allow and reduce the parking requirement because of the project’s affordability target. An Island resident provided an interest-free loan during construction of $500,000. The total capital cost was slightly over $5 million. CMHC insured the $1,800,000 mortgage. After four years of hard work by the Murakamis, the Society and its development team, Murakami Gardens was officially opened in October 2008.
Rents are $560 for a studio, unit $667 for a one-bedroom unit, $839 for a two- bedroom suite and $1,065 for a three- bedroom suite. The people who have become tenants of Murakami Gardens met eligibility criteria as required by the various funding partners and the Islands Trust, which includes maximum income limits. Tenants also have access to services provided by Salt Spring Island Community Services, which may help them enhance their self- sufficiency.
The Society, founded in 1975, delivers a broad range of services on Salt Spring and the other southern Gulf Islands, says Tanya Hutchens, including family and parenting support, emergency housing for youth, wellness programs for seniors, mental health and addictions services, recreation and recycling programs.
