$400/month rent is coming to Whistler: Complex for resort staff aims to ease housing crunch

Whistler Blackcomb is hoping to make a dent in the resort's housing shortage with the proposal of a newstaff housing complex.

The resort announced plans for a dorm-style complex with 200 beds in Whistler, B.C., on Tuesday.

Pete Sonntag, chief operating officer at Whistler Blackcomb, says rent will be set at less than $400 a month similar to the resort's existing staff housing, but far cheaper than market value.

"Affordable housing is an issue that's been increasing in importance over the past few years ... the need is critical and it's critical across the community," Sonntagsaid Tuesday.

"You compare [that rate] to some of the stories you're hearing out there right now of over $1,000 [a month] this is a huge difference-maker."

Whistler has a vacancy rate of less than half a per cent, making it difficult for seasonal staff to find a place to live let alone an affordable option.

The "Glacier 8" facility would targetfirst-season staffand seasonal-returningstaff, according to a statement. Employees wouldneed to stay for at least two weeks, paying $12.65 a night.

Last year, the local municipal government announced plans to add 1,000 new beds in town over the next five years.

Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Mordensaid she'd like to see 75 per cent of the town's workforce living locally.

"We've got to preserve our community for our full-time residents and our employees," she said Tuesday.

The Glacier 8project will go before city council in the new year as the proposed building site would need to be rezoned. Sonntagsaid Whistler Blackcomb hopes to see the complex opened by2020.

With files from Joel Ballard

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