Developers in today’s tough environment are increasingly collaborating with non-profits, government partners and municipal corporations to help move projects forward.

Through strategic partnerships, purpose-driven developers are accessing additional financing, donation capital and land and finding alignments that meet larger societal needs, experts told Business in Vancouver.

Developers are now looking to help support the objectives of BC Housing and non-profits by being part of their delivery scenarios, said Bryan Reid, president of Kindred Construction Ltd., which usually works as the third-party general contractor.

“They need the ability to pull from institutional funds rather than private lending, because they’re just not finding the ability to make projects work that are market-driven right now,” he said.

As B.C. Budget 2026 pauses the Community Housing Fund, developers are exploring financing alternatives and different forms of contractual delivery, he said.

A partnership approach is being implemented on one Kindred project with Community Land Trust, BC Housing and the City of Vancouver. It’s a 17-storey mass-timber tower at the corner of Burrard and Davie streets consisting of retail, 154 affordable rentals and a new centre for the Qmunity non-profit. Occupancy is expected in early 2027.

Reid said each project is unique but in general, the needs of different stakeholders must be balanced and reliability established. Partners must also take a cost-conscious approach because public funds are being spent.

“You have to make sure that you’re respectful of what BC Housing’s mandate is to ensure that as a government entity their financial objectives are met, and then you have to recognize that you’re moving into a space where you’re trying to deliver housing that is beautiful, and bespoke and phenomenal without the ability to spend lavishly,” he said.

Partnerships with non-profits ultimately serve clients and groups in need, said Byron Chard, president and CEO of Chard Development Ltd.

The company is helping deliver a 94-unit supportive housing project at Homer and Pender streets for seniors and veterans at risk of homelessness through a partnership with Whole Way House Society (WWH), BC Housing and City of Vancouver, he said. The project is scheduled to open in mid-2028.

A WWH donor purchased the land from Chard and donated it to BC Housing, creating an opportunity for BC Housing’s Supportive Housing Fund to enter into a fixed-price agreement with Chard.

“A big benefit that the not-for-profits bring is the operating expertise, the community programming, but it’s also the donation capital that can get stacked in with different types of government money, for-profit money and ultimately it goes to unlock these projects,” Chard said.

It’s not just a potentially lower cost of capital; it could be different incentives when you go through the approval process or it could be reducing market risk by having an affordability component, he said.

“By bringing these types of partnerships together with multiple different organizations, we actually find that we are able to bring a competitive advantage to our projects and that means that we are able to reduce the risk, which at the end of the day is how we’re actually able to deliver a lot of these homes right now,” he said.

One challenge is that the developer carries the risk of delivering a fully-entitled project that is shovel-ready, he said. That’s because non-profits typically have limited capital and specialization to carry a project through the development and approval process.

It’s a risk that Chard is comfortable with, having done seven or eight of these types of projects, including five with YWCA BC, he said.

Other partnerships can involve semi-public bodies like municipal corporations.

John McEown, CEO of the Burnaby Housing Authority, said BHA has a partnership with Mosaic Avenue Realty Ltd. that would see 183 rental townhomes delivered by the end of 2028. It’s a mix of both market and affordable rentals, and the first units should be ready by the end of 2027.

The project is on City of Burnaby-owned land, the city works with BHA in a lease, and Mosaic is the build partner and construction manager. Public land can be leveraged to create affordability in a financially sustainable way, he said.

BHA’s structure—it is solely owned by Burnaby but is a separate entity reporting to a board of directors—allows it to be nimble and lean in its decision-making and fast-track such projects, he said.

Partnerships are a huge benefit in a difficult environment, but they rely on strong relationships to get through difficult conversations and compromises, he said.

“These sorts of partnerships and different structures between the private, public sector and us sitting in this kind of quasi-public space, will be a benefit to move projects forward,” he said.

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