British Columbia government buying land near SeaBus transit for housing development

The province announced Monday it will buy the waterfront property near Lonsdale Quay to create hundreds of homes.

Premier David Eby announced the province's purchase during a morning news conference, saying the new housing development will be close to a transit hub, including the SeaBus terminal.

Eby said the goal is to make transit-oriented housing "attainable across the income spectrum."

"One of the things that often happens with these government sites or sites that are close to the water is they get developed into luxury executive condos that don't fit the needs of the people that actually use transit and would benefit from the amenities that are here," he said. "We're going to ensure that this building and this site gets used to build a more livable community for everybody here on the North Shore."

The province will partner with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples, as well as TransLink and the City of North Vancouver on the project.

It's expected the property will have market and below-market homes, as well as amenities like child care, health care and public spaces.