Mayor of Faro, Yukon, hopes surplus housing attracts new residents to town
While many people across the Yukon struggle to find affordable housing, the mayor of Faro says people should consider moving to his town.
Mayor Jack Bowers says the town’s population currently sits at around 600 full time residents. He’s hoping to increase that by enticing people with the affordable housing options his town currently has.
“We’ve got the capacity to grow,” Bowers told CBC News. “We’ve got a water, sewer infrastructure system that can support 3,000 people. So yeah, we think we’re on the precipice of a boom. We’re ready for it, we just need it to start happening.”
The remote town in central Yukon has long had surplus housing, with a lot of units sitting empty and abandoned for years after the Faro lead-zinc mine closed in the 1990s.
In 2017, the town decided to try to sell about 170 empty housing units. It sold most of the buildings, which were in various states of disrepair, to seven private property owners who had agreed to repair and restore the dwellings to a livable condition.
Bowers says many of the property owners are accessing government funding to renovate and restore the homes.
Other residents are buying lots and building new homes in town, he said.
While the average price of a single unit of a duplex in Whitehorse is close to $600,000, in Faro, you could buy the entire building for that price.
A triplex in the “lower bench” area has three 3-bedroom units and is being sold by the town for $120,000. The sale is the result of tax recovery by the town, and none of the units are in livable condition and require extensive renovations.
Other local listings include single-family, turnkey homes being sold for just under $300,000.
Bowers said there are homes available for anyone who is willing to live, work, and contribute to the community.
He also referred to a camp being built to accommodate workers with the Faro mine remediation project.
“So what if those 300 or 400 jobs up there, some of those folks have families and they want to come to Faro and bring their families with them, rather than live in a camp? We have the housing to do that.
Whitehorse realtor Felix Robitaille says one challenge for the town right now is the relative lack of rental units.
“Most people when they come from other places in the world or Canada are going to start by renting,” Robitaille said. “So having that rental stock I think is how you grow your community.”
Robitaille said the town has numerous duplexes and triplexes currently sitting empty, or as storage, that could potentially be converted into apartments. He suggests offering incentives for creating that rental stock.
“Whether it’s a tax break or a retrofit incentive, something to make people want to do more with those buildings,” Robitaille said.
Robitaille describes Faro as an under-exploited gem that is “on the growth slope.”
“I don’t think it’s going to experience a boom, but I definitely would say it’s going to slow-and-steady grow and experience an organic growth.”
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Auditor general gives Housing N.W.T. a bad grade, again, CBC News
Greenland: Despite housing shortages, Greenland razes colonial apartment blocks, Blog by Mia Bennett
