Brightside Community Homes Foundation
#300 – 905 West Pender Street,
Vancouver, B.C.
V6C 1L6

P: (604) 684 3515
F: (604) 684 3677

Partnerships

Photo of a group of people outside during Brightside 2019 summer BBQ at Lions View

At Brightside, our focus, stretching far into the future, is on our residents and improving the quality of the communities they call home.

We experience firsthand the ever-increasing demand for non-market housing solutions and will continue to look for opportunities to increase our impact throughout Vancouver. We see ourselves as a small part of a growing sector trying to make an impact on our challenging housing market and, to do this, we need partners who share our vision. Together, we can improve the quality of our homes, increase housing stock and, at the same time, grow our communityrichard mille replica.

“Cooperation is unity. With improving community involvement.”
Johnny, Alice Saunders

Non-profits

Since its inception, Brightside has partnered with other non-profit societies.

In Brightside’s early days, all of our buildings were developed with the generous support of the Lions Clubs, including the Burrard Lions Club and the Central Lions Club, the Western Institute for the Deaf, the King’s Daughters, the Ladies of the Loyal Orange Lodge, the Soroptimist Club and the Kitsilano United Church Seniors Society.

These organizations all shared our interest in supporting seniors and donated their time, land, or seed funding to build much-needed, rent-controlled homes for low-income seniors.

In the ‘90s, Brightside partnered with Wilson Heights Church and the First Lutheran Church to develop buildings on church-owned land to support low-income families.

Partnering with Brightside

For non-profit societies that share our vision of creating affordable rental units for low-income seniors and families in need, Brightside offers over 60 years of experience with non-market housing solutions in Vancouver.

 

Brightside can be your partner for any building you no longer want to manage.

With 26 properties under Brightside’s management, we have the infrastructure in place to make sure your property receives proper care.

“Although the Corps of Commissionaires had owned Coleopy Park since the 1950s, and saw it through redevelopment, by 1999 it was their one remaining housing project, and they felt it was time to pass it on to a society whose sole purpose was non-profit housing. They transferred the property to Brightside, so that we could provide housing to 36 low-income seniors and 22 low-income families.”

 

Brightside can partner to develop land owned by other non-profits.

Brightside has built many apartments on land owned by other organizations that shared our mission of creating affordable housing for low-income Vancouver residents. Our experience lies in partnering with societies that have land, want to create housing but not to manage the day-to-day operations of owning a building. In some cases, the best solution may be to lease the land to Brightside.

“Wilson Heights United Church wanted to build senior’s housing on their church parking lot but didn’t want to own and manage the building. Brightside partnered with Wilson Heights to make this vision a reality. In this situation, what worked best for both partners was for Brightside to prepay a land lease to Wilson Heights, giving them much-needed revenue to pay for church renovations. The church retained the ownership of their land and when the long-term lease expires, both the land and the building will revert to their care.”

 

Brightside is an experienced partner for new non-market housing developments.

Operating non-profit housing in British Columbia is a very complex business due to the regulations imposed by all three levels of government. It’s also very costly to operate one building and rare for any organization to make such a social enterprise generate a profit. Brightside is eager to partner with non-profits that consider developing rent-controlled housing. With 26 buildings under management, our economies of scale allow us to efficiently add new housing to our infrastructure.

“The purpose of the Soroptimist Club is to raise money and give grants to organizations that support women. In the 1960s, they saw a dire housing need for retired single women and, since they aren’t in the business of creating programs, the Soroptimist Club invested in three housing projects: one of which was with Brightside.”

To discuss partnership opportunities with Brightside, call (604) 684 3515 and leave a message for the CEO or email info@brightsidehomes.ca

Developers

Brightside is a leader in non-market housing solutions in Vancouver. Partnering with us ensures healthy returns while helping people in need of a place to call home.

We are ready to collaborate with developers working on a strategy to meet the City of Vancouver’s bylaws related to creating new non-market housing in large developments or maintaining rental stock unit numbers impacted by new developments. Our 60-year experience working within provincial and city housing guidelines along with substantial financial assets can be of a great benefit to the right partnership.

A model public–private partnership

In 1991, Van Maren Construction, dys architecture and Terra Housing Consultants partnered with Brightside on a project that is still cited as a model for public–private partnerships.

The project was a redevelopment of our aging Lions View properties. The plan, developed by Jim O’Dea, principal of Terra Housing consultants, required the cooperation and coordination of all three levels of government, existing tenants, architects and consultants.

  • Brightside provided the land and operating expertise.
  • The City of Vancouver approved the rezoning and subdivision of our three-acre parcel of land.
  • Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation allowed an early payout of the mortgage on the land and existing buildings.
  • The BC Housing Management Commission helped relocate residents for the new development to be undertaken.
  • Federal and provincial governments provided construction financing to replace the 92 out-of-date seniors units that were originally built in 1952.
  • Brightside’s Board of Directors approved the sale of one three-acre parcel of land to Van Maren Construction for a condominium development.
  • Terra Housing Consultants provided their development expertise on a contingency basis — they would not be paid if the project did not go ahead.
  • Developer Bernie Van Maren provided the funding through the front-end development and approval phase.

 

Results

The $20 million project was profitable for the developer, which built market condominiums on the land purchased from Brightside. It also gave Brightside three brand new buildings, providing 92 government-subsidized units and 34 rent-controlled units for low-income seniors. The third building was developed entirely with funds provided by Brightside and a conventional mortgage.

Developer Bernie Van Maren says that the project is the best partnership he has undertaken.

“Lions View was a wonderful example of a successful partnership between a non-profit housing foundation and a for-profit developer and architect team, achieving the goals of each partner and becoming great friends in the process. It’s extremely rare that two potentially divergent groups can work together on the basis of trust alone and successfully develop 171 units with an end-result that meets or exceeds initial projections.”
– Bernie Van Maren

To discuss partnership opportunities, call (604) 684 3515 and leave a message for the CEO or email info@brightsidehomes.ca

Individuals

Cash donations

Although Brightside does not actively solicit donations from individuals, all support to our foundation is put into our New Sites and Redevelopment Fund to create new housing for low-income individuals and families.
As a CRA registered charity, all cash donations to Brightside are tax-deductible.

 

Donation of property

We would love to discuss possibilities of developing any property that you wish to donate for non-market housing. Although we can suggest benefits of donating land or property to a non-profit, please consult your accountant or financial planner first, as it is a complicated tax area.

Donation of securities

Since Brightside is a registered charity, your gift of publicly traded securities (stocks, income trust units, bonds and mutual fund units) are exempt from capital gains tax. Consult your tax accountant to determine how making a donation of securities would work to your advantage and contact us to find out how your donation would be used to support our vision.

Bequests

If you are considering helping low-income seniors and families in your community by making a bequest to Brightside, please consult your lawyer about including such consideration in your will.

To discuss donation opportunities with Brightside, call (604) 684 3515 and leave a message for the CEO, or email us at info@brightsidehomes.ca

Brightside Mailing List Sign-Up

Sign up for updates on Brightside's new projects and redevelopments. *Brightside does not share your email and you can unsubscribe at any time.