Housing for Seniors: Staying in the Community You Built

North Vancouver’s seniors want to stay in the community they know. The housing market does not make that easy.

For many people, ageing in place is assumed to mean remaining in the same house forever. Sometimes that works. A home can be renovated, support can be brought in, and family may live nearby.

For others, the house itself becomes the problem. There may be too many stairs, too much maintenance, or more space than one or two people need. Property taxes, utilities, repairs, and yard work can become a burden. The neighbourhood may also be difficult to navigate without driving.

Moving should offer a simpler life. Too often, the available options require leaving the neighbourhood or the city entirely.

What seniors are asking for

For many seniors, the next move should not mean a care facility 40 minutes away.

They want an appropriately sized home near family and long-standing friends. They want to keep shopping at the same grocery store, visiting the same doctor, walking familiar streets, and taking part in the community where they have built their lives.

That home may be a ground-floor suite with no steps. It could be a single-level townhouse, an accessible apartment in a mid-rise building with an elevator, or a smaller unit near transit and daily services.

What matters is being able to remain independent and connected.

A good location can extend the years during which someone lives independently. When groceries, a pharmacy, medical services, transit, and social activities are nearby, giving up driving does not have to mean giving up daily life.

The need is growing

BC’s population aged 65 and older is projected to nearly double by 2046. North Vancouver already has an older population profile than the provincial average, so the local need will be particularly strong.

Housing takes years to plan, approve, finance, and build. Waiting until the shortage becomes acute will leave families scrambling for options that do not exist.

The current supply of accessible, appropriately sized homes is already inadequate. New buildings may meet basic accessibility requirements without offering the location, layout, or affordability seniors need. Older homes are often located in established neighbourhoods but may be difficult to adapt.

We need to plan now for the people who will need these homes five, ten, and twenty years from now.

Missing-middle housing can help

A modest duplex, stacked townhouse, or small mid-rise building with an elevator can fit comfortably into an existing neighbourhood while adding options for seniors.

These are the same gentle housing forms that can serve young families. A three-bedroom townhome may work for a family with children. A step-free two-bedroom home nearby may work for grandparents who want less maintenance and enough room for visitors.

Young families and seniors often need many of the same building forms, designed for different stages of life.

Adding these homes can also free up existing detached houses for families who need more space. That kind of movement is difficult when seniors have nowhere suitable to go.

What CNV can do

The City can make accessible and adaptable design a stronger priority in new housing. It can encourage ground-floor units, single-level layouts, and buildings with elevators in locations close to transit and services.

Zoning should allow more appropriately scaled housing in established neighbourhoods, not only along the busiest roads. Approval processes should support projects that offer accessible homes rather than making small, ground-oriented developments unusually difficult to build.

The City can also work with non-profits, co-ops, BC Housing, and health partners to expand affordable seniors housing. Market housing is part of the picture, but many older residents live on fixed incomes and need secure rental options.

Ageing in place should include staying connected to the people and places that make life familiar. It should not require remaining in a home that no longer works.

North Van’s seniors helped build this community. They deserve a realistic way to remain part of it.