In 2018, the City of Vancouver will receive a new residential building in Southeast False Creek from Concert Properties.

The 15-storey building will be one of five that the developer will construct at its project site located between the Olympic Village and Quebec Street.

The turnover of the building is part of an agreement between the city and Concert Properties, which involved the rezoning of the 2.5-hectare property.

The rezoning will allow the developer to construct four condo buildings of 18, 15, 14, and 12 storeys.

The residential building that the city is getting will have 135 units that will be rented out, homes that Mayor Gregor Robertson described in ground breaking ceremonies held Tuesday (March 15) as affordable housing.

“It’s very challenging to build affordable housing in Vancouver,” Robertson said.

According to the city, 40 percent of the units in the building will rent below what is called the ‘housing income limits’ that are set by the province.

The city’s chief housing officer Mukhtar Latif explained that these are meant for people who have incomes ranging from $36,500 to $56,000.

When asked about starting monthly rents for these 54 units, Latif said that this means $900 for a studio unit and up to $1,500 for a three-bedroom unit.

Sixty percent of the units or the equivalent of 81 units will rent at “modest market rents”, according to the city’s media release.

Latif explained that this represents something around the neighbourhood of $2,000 for a three-bedroom unit.

Brian McCauley, president and chief operating officer of Concert, said at the event that the entire development called The Creek will represent a complete community near the waterfront, which is accessible to transit. The development includes a one-hectare park.