Kamloops city staff say a Housing Needs Assessment to be done this spring should answer whether the city has enough social and low-income housing.

The province mandated every municipality to do a housing needs assessment and is covering the costs, and it won’t cost more than $50,000.

So come June or July, we’ll have a report that shows what we currently have, what the needs are. But it also looks at the current continuum from social housing to market housing,” community and social development supervisor Natalie Serl says.

Right now, Serl says there are five low-income housing projects being funded by the province that, combined, will add 290 units.

“I think we’ll see some open this year. Spirit Square is looking great, so we’re looking forward to seeing that one open. And all of these units, they serve different demographics. So some will be for families, some will be for people with disabilities, some will be for seniors. So it covers a wide spectrum.”

The largest project in the works locally is a 112-unit tower at 6th and Victoria, for low-income seniors, families and people with disabilities.

Also being built is a 52-unit in the 500-block of St. Paul Street for low-to-middle-income families and people living alone. Also on St. Paul, in the 400-block, a large housing project being built will have 12 units for people with disabilities.

Also, in Sahali, 40 units of affordable housing for seniors are planned to be added to the Maverick Inn.