Squamish Council has supported in principle an application to B.C. Housing to build a social/supportive housing project on Main and Third Avenue.
The resolution, passed at the April 7 regular council meeting, was required before the project's proponents, led by the Squamish Helping Hands Society, could move forward.
The preferred option is a four-storey building with parking, district file storage and administrative offices on the ground floor, a shelter on the second floor and residential units on the third and fourth floors. The footprint of the building could be up to 16,900 square feet, the size of the lot.
The second option for the shelter would be to build a smaller building on site, and keep an area for outdoor library parking and deliveries.
There is also a third option, which would be maintaining District control over the site as a future location for a new municipal hall, or selling the land to generate revenue. However, the staff report says the proposed shelter is the best use of the land as the only parcel owned by the District in the downtown area. Staff also confirmed that Squamish has an immediate need for the shelter.
