B.C. looks to revive a stalled modular housing program

In a storage lot in Penticton, B.C., there are 40 modular housing structures stored in shrink wrap, rows of them to the rear of a development site. Soon, the province says, the units will be transported to a site in Vernon where they will finally, after years of storage, be used as their intended purpose, as 52 units of supportive housing.

There are currently about 195 modular structures in storage, according to BC Housing. They are part of a modular program launched in 2017 by the province to expedite supportive and affordable housing for seniors and families without homes and at risk of homelessness. In an e-mailed response, the province said “the majority” of those structures in storage are “earmarked for projects to be deployed in 2025.”