Richmond Kiwanis Senior Citizens Housing Society, a non-profit organization, provides and operates below-market residential accommodations for qualified seniors. We currently own and manage the two Kiwanis Towers immediately west of Richmond Centre, 6 suites at Trafalgar Square and 13 suites at Berkeley House in Richmond. Each suite at Kiwanis has the contemporary features to give you that quality of modern life you’ve been dreaming of.

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Richmond Kiwanis Seniors Citizens Housing Society was formed by Richmond Kiwanis Club when we recognized increasing demand for low cost rental housing by our aging population. We first purchased a 5-acre lot in 1959, built 24 cottages and 2 larger buildings for seniors. After decades of use, the wooden construction deteriorated to a point where the buildings became undesirable to live in, and upkeep and maintenance became difficult and expensive.

 

In 2010, we started to plan for a new concrete high rise project in collaboration with BC Housing, the City of Richmond and a private-sector developer, Polygon Homes. Kiwanis sold two thirds of the land to Polygon. With proceeds from this land sale and an additional $20 million from the “affordable housing reserve fund” collected by the City of Richmond via the “cash in lieu” contributions for affordable housing from private developers, Polygon took on the construction task and built the twin Kiwanis Towers for Kiwanis. We are grateful that the City of Richmond waived the development fees, service cost fees and municipal permit fees, and that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) provided Proposal Development Funding of $100,000 to help Kiwanis with the preliminary work.

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The previous 152 residents were relocated temporarily during the construction. Kiwanis supported the moving costs for those residents, and they were given priority to return to the new Kiwanis Towers upon completion.

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The first Kiwanis North Tower officially opened in March 2015 and the second Kiwanis South Tower opened in July the same year. Kiwanis initially received over 750 applications and was only able to accommodate 400 qualified senior residents in its 296 suites.

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In October 2019, Kiwanis purchased 6 more suites at another private development, Trafalgar Square, to provide more low-income affordable housing. In December 2020 & June 2021, Kiwanis purchased another 13 suites at Berkeley House. With these 2 new holdings, we are able to accommodate seniors with the need for 2 bedrooms and a parking stall.

 

Richmond Kiwanis Senior Citizens Housing Society has a dedicated board of directors, prudent governance practices, proven track record of project/construction management and operation of rental properties with satisfied tenants. Kiwanis is self-sustainable with an operating surplus. We see the tremendous ongoing demand for senior affordable housing and are committed to increase supply of affordable housing in the near future.

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