The federal government has invested $48.5 million in 104 new purpose-built rental apartments on Vancouver’s Olympic Village district.

Ottawa has provided a low-interest loan to Cressey for its LEED Gold 10-storey Wilkinson project through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s rental construction financing initiative (RCFi), federal officials announced Friday.

The City of Vancouver waived $2.1 million of development cost levies, while Vancouver-based Cressey provided $4 million in cash and land equity.

The project was completed in 2021 and is fully leased. The site is connected to the False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility, which uses waste thermal energy captured from sewage to provide space heating and hot water to area buildings.

The federal investment continues Ottawa’s recent trend of investing in Vancouver multi-family real estate projects through the RCFi. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government recently invested $107.5 million in Marcon’s 215-unit W42 apartment project and $150 million in three multi-residential developments on the city’s west side.