A hint of what a surge of North Coast Housing might look like

While Prince Rupert Council tries to shepherd through a modest proposal for a Graham Avenue housing development, which would provide  housing geared mainly to retired residents, an indication of much larger projects to come, perhaps can be found in Kitimat and Terrace.

With both of those communities currently the Northwest hot spots for economic development with a number of industrial projects underway, the push for more housing is quickly moving forward.

Terrace has recently heard of development plans for a number of projects around that city, designed to try and answer some of the growing demand. With plans announced for a pair of projects which would deliver over 184 lots for housing to help to meet some of the demand that the community is seeing, as its economy continues to grow.

Two large subdivisions planned
Housing crunch predicted as Terrace and area population grows

Over in Kitimat, much has been made about the spike in housing prices and the need for more housing and the need for it fast.

One item of interest that has surfaced is a splashy prospectus for a housing development  known as Baxter Landing.

The large scale housing proposal looks like what many would be familiar with from much larger communities, an impressive looking project that will deliver some 36 homes, and perhaps set the tone for the many future developments that are anticipated as that community continues to attract industry.

And while that amount of 36 homes, won't likely make much of a dent in the housing needs of the anticipated surge in those moving to the community.

It does seem to suggest that Kitimat is going to see a rapid increase in their housing supply, as more developers arrive to meet the demand of new housing.

For the moment, Prince Rupert isn't quite sharing that same kind of excitement as found in both Terrace and Kitimat.

For the most part, the only impact that the talk of economic development on the North Coast has had, is to send the price of existing housing stock upwards.

To date, there have been few plans delivered for an expanded housing base for Prince Rupert, which has only seen some small development in recent years along the 11th Avenue area.

Our plans it appears may still be a few years down the line, however it would seem that if all goes according to plan, Rupertites will soon be leafing through brochures and scrawling through websites looking for new ideas and new styles of housing.

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