Mark Vonesch/ Cortes Currents - The Electoral Areas Housing Needs Report identified an immediate demand for 75 rental and 40 retail units on Cortes Island.

In a previous interview, Mark Vonesch from the Cortes Community Housing Society, said, “I hear stories of people having to quit their jobs because they can’t find housing for the summer. I know people that are living under a tarp. I know seniors that are living in a tent.” 

However a quick scan of the real estate pages turns up three homes, for between $890,000 and $2.7 million, and it will probably be at least a year before Cortes Island’s affordable housing development will be ready. When Rainbow Ridge finally does accept tenants, it will meet a little more than a quarter of the current rental need.

In the last of a series of articles about his running for Regional Director, Vonesch describes affordable housing as the #1 issue on Cortes Island.