Habitat Greater Vancouver is very pleased to announce that its Development Variance Permit application was approved on Wednesday, June 24 2015 by the municipality of Richmond.  Habitat Greater Vancouver is seeking authorization for its 8180 Ash Street development project to build 6 single family homes with rental suites that will provide 12 hardworking families with homes.

The organisation’s municipal application had to be reintroduced after its Development Variance Permit was denied this spring based on vehicle manoeuverability in parking areas, concerns expressed by the community on house design and need for additional community consultation.

Habitat successfully addressed those issues and inquiries before the Development Permit Panel. Subsequently, the organization is now able to submit for City Council approval on July 13th and proceed to apply for a building permit by late September. Habitat Greater Vancouver will announce its new ground-breaking date in late fall and extends its deepest appreciation to its supporters for their continued commitment and patience.

When Randall Forrester, or Randy as he likes to be called, and his family moved into their house in the spring of 2004, he knew he was setting the foundation for his ten year plan. He and his wife had been proactively searching for a house for a long while and were getting ready to move out east to Saskatchewan when they heard about Habitat for Humanity on a CBC show.

Despite a few reservations, Randall decided to attend an introduction session and as they say the rest is history. Even though the time between the application and actual move was longer than he expected, Randy says that he and his wife were very clear that it was a “hand up” that would allow them to move into the local market they had been struggling with for so long.

“We knew we were reasonable, hardworking people and that we would get there”.

At the end of last summer Randy’s dream came true and he was able to acquire a house in New Westminster thanks to the Habitat Greater Vancouver buyback process. When asked about moving out of his ten-year home, Randy describes his exiting experience as “fantastic” as flexibility allowed him to plan out his transfer from one house to another on a convenient schedule.

The Forrester family’s Habitat journey was not a “perfect picture” as Randy puts it. Of course, there were a few challenges along the way, such as finding a school for his daughter, but he describes his experience as instrumental to accessing the regular market and feels strongly about “passing the opportunity along to others”.

He says that having worked onsite at Habitat while fulfilling the sweat equity requirement is really helping out with his current remodelling. “It gave me so much more knowledge and the practical skills of building and renovating a house”. Needless to say, Randy is also a frequent ReStore customer where he shops for supplies.

Randy says he is extremely grateful to Habitat for the opportunity and is eager to continue his relationship with the organization through supportive involvement. We wish him the best on his new adventure as a homeowner and look forward to running into him at the ReStores.