2025 was a good year for progress related to Castlegar’s housing shortage.
In 2023, the City of Castlegar identified an immediate need for 464 housing units through an in-depth housing needs assessment. Since then, the city has been working on making building easier.
The 114-bed student housing building at Selkirk College’s Castlegar campus that opened last year, along with projects currently underway or completed in 2025 meet more than half of that shortfall with at least 250 units being added to the city’s inventory.
In April, the Kootenay Society for Community Living opened Eagle Estates at 1101 2nd St. The development features eight one-bedroom apartments on the upper floor, providing affordable housing for individuals with low or moderate incomes. The ground floor is home to a five-bedroom, staffed living space for adults with developmental disabilities.
In May, construction began on a 27-unit housing complex specifically for women and children.
The project is funded by BC Housing with Castlegar Community Services serving as the program operator and property manager. The three-storey complex will include a combination of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom suites. These units will be a combination of mid-term and long-term housing, with caps on how long a person can live in the mid-term units.
The 54-unit Park Place development opened at 2405 Columbia Ave. The development features 11 two-floor live/work townhouse units, 14 one-bedroom units with dens and 29 two-bedroom units with dens.
An eight-unit multiplex opened at 2225 Columbia Ave. this year.
Construction is also underway or completed on at least 15 single-family homes this year.
Construction is ongoing at a new 20-bed shelter scheduled for a 2026 opening.
While construction will not begin until next year, the demolition of Pioneer Arena made way for a 78-unit housing project. This project is not included in the above figures because construction has not begun.
The development is a partnership between the City of Castlegar, BC Housing, and Lu’ma Developments. It will offer affordable housing, with a mix of rent-geared-to-income units and below-market rentals for moderate-income households. Plans call for 17 studios, 37 one-bedroom units, and 24 two-bedroom units over six storeys.
The city will maintain ownership of the property under a long-term lease agreement. Future plans also call for a medical office building on the site.
Building permit values were up significantly in 2025 across all sectors. By the end of October (the date of the last publicly available report), the city had issued permits for work valuing $33.2 million, more than double 2024’s $15.5 million. Previously, the highest year on record was 2023 at $31.3 million. These figures include commercial construction as well as residential and cover new builds and renovations.
