Whistler’s affordable housing stock continues to grow, with the community now offering 7,495 employee beds—enough to house nearly half of Whistler’s permanent population, according to Whistler Housing Authority. The latest increase of 118 beds comes from the newly opened developments at 1400 and 1450 Mount Fee Road in Cheakamus Crossing.
The Whistler Housing Authority presented its financials at a recent council meeting. WHA provided a snapshot of a community where approximately 46 per cent of the 2023 permanent population of 16,063 live in employee-restricted housing. Since 2018, 1,260 employee beds have been added to Whistler’s housing inventory, with another 882 beds currently under municipal consideration or approval.
“We hear time and again that many members of our community’s workforce would not still be living in Whistler if they had not secured a home in the employee housing inventory,” said Marla Zucht, WHA general manager. “Employee housing has given many the ability to move forward with building their lives in Whistler with confidence and stability. It can be life-changing.”
As of the end of 2024, the WHA rental waitlist includes 677 applicants, 503 of whom are not yet housed through the WHA. The ownership waitlist has 1,220 applicants, with 780 not yet in ownership housing.
Financially, the WHA reported an accumulated surplus of $41.4 million at year’s end—an $11.2 million increase from 2023. That total includes $39.5 million invested in tangible capital assets, a restricted reserve fund of $1 million for future rental projects, and an unrestricted reserve fund of $875,000.
The WHA plans to secure financing in 2025 for its next employee housing development at 1600 Mount Fee Road, which is expected to add 125 new rental units to Whistler’s housing supply.
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