Banff Approves $6.46M Borrowing Plan for Staff Housing Project With Parks Canada

Banff council has approved plans to borrow up to $6.46 million for a new staff housing development with Parks Canada, with the Town expecting rents from the project to cover the borrowing costs rather than local taxes.

Council unanimously approved Borrowing Bylaw 496 on May 26, formally authorizing long-term borrowing for the Town’s share of the 30-unit staff housing development on Squirrel Street over a term of up to 15 years.

Administration has repeatedly described the project as “non-tax-supported,” though the borrowing bylaw states the debt is backed by “the credit and security of the Town of Banff at large.”

“Servicing costs, operating and maintenance costs will be paid from rental revenue,” said Sharon Oakley, the Town of Banff’s manager of housing sustainability, during the project’s first-reading debate in April.

The development is being co-financed with Parks Canada after updated project pricing forced both partners to revise the project’s original financial structure. Under the updated agreement, Parks Canada will now cover 56% of project costs while the Town covers 44%. Town administration previously said the original 50-50 split would have pushed Banff’s contribution above $7 million, making it difficult for the project to fully recover costs through rents alone.

The project will contain 30 staff housing units for Town of Banff and Parks Canada employees, including 14 units, roughly 47 percent of the project, allocated to the Town of Banff in the form of seven one-bedroom and seven two-bedroom units.

“We know that this is much needed housing for both of our organizations and for our community,” Mayor Corrie DiManno said.

DiManno described the project as an example of growing collaboration between Banff and Parks Canada to address shared staff housing challenges.

The project comes as Banff faces mounting pressure to create more workforce housing inside the national park townsite after Canmore recently withdrew support for Banff municipal employees purchasing homes there through a Town incentive program, citing worsening housing pressures in its own community.

The project will be built on two long-vacant Squirrel Street lots near Banff Avenue, one of the few remaining centrally located development sites inside the national park townsite.

Council documents did not identify a specific lender, though Alberta municipalities commonly finance large capital projects through the Alberta Capital Finance Authority, a provincial lending agency that provides financing to local governments.

The arrangement between the Town and Parks Canada still needs to be formalized through a lease and memorandum of understanding outlining ownership and operating responsibilities for the project. If construction proceeds as planned, work on the development is expected to begin in fall 2026, with occupancy targeted for spring 2028.