Skip to content

Location of healing centre, affordable housing project announced by Sicamous council

Shuswap (Secwépemc) Healing Centre to be built at 200 Main Street
26770961_web1_211021-EVN-Shuswap-Healing-Centre-1_1
A conceptual drawing of the positioning of the Shuswap (Secwépemc) Healing Centre at 200 Main Street in Sicamous. District council decided the centre’s location at an Oct. 6, 2021, in-camera meeting. (Steffi Sunny/District of Sicamous)

Two major developments on Main Street were topics of discussion at a special District of Sicamous council meeting that was closed to the public.

After the Oct. 6 in-camera meeting, resolutions from council were released in a minutes document.

The Shuswap (Secwépemc) Healing Centre’s official location has been confirmed, with council deciding 200 Main Street will be the place it’s built. Additionally, the district is now in talks with Habitat for Humanity regarding an affordable housing project.

According to Sarah Kyllo, executive assistant for the district, the centre’s original grant application had 200 Main Street as its proposed location.

However, after the district acquired two Main Street properties — 417 and 425 Main Street — the centre’s proposed location was moved there, to align with an affordable housing project being developed by the Eagle Valley Senior Citizens Housing Society (EVSCHS), said Kyllo.

Plans would change again when the district held preliminary meetings with the healing centre’s design team, Dr. Avein Saaty-Tafoya and Douglas Cardinal. They identified 200 Main Street as the ideal location for the centre based on its footprint and existing trees on site, said Kyllo.

Around the same time as those preliminary meetings, Habitat for Humanity Kamloops contacted the district about a residential-commercial complex that would provide attainable housing.

The district agreed to reserve the northern portion of the 417 and 425 Main Street properties for the habitat development, as it said it will complement the EVSCHS development.

Mayor Terry Rysz said the district is in the process of conducting a housing needs assessment, and he’s heard residents want more housing options in Sicamous. Kyllo said the housing needs assessment will likely be finalized and presented to council by December.

As of Oct. 8, Habitat for Humanity had not submitted a proposal or conceptual design for the attainable housing development. Kyllo said the district will be working with habitat, the public, and any other partners to “develop a design and operational plan.” The goal is to have the development meet Sicamous’ specific objectives and needs as a community, she said.

Read more: Breakdancing’s move to Olympics sparks Salmon Arm man’s unique creation

Read more: Passenger ejected in single-vehicle crash on Hwy. 1 near Sicamous


Do you have something else we should report on? Email: zachary.roman@saobserver.net
Like us on Facebook and subscribe to our daily newsletter.