Banff Commits $6.25 Million to Joint Staff Housing Project with Parks Canada

BANFF, Alberta — A long-vacant pair of lots on Squirrel Street are set to become the site of one of the largest staff housing developments in Banff in years, after Town Council voted unanimously on September 29 to move ahead with a joint project alongside Parks Canada.

The Town has committed up to $6.25 million toward the project at 409–413 Squirrel Street, a partnership that will see the two agencies share land, costs, and operations to deliver 30 to 38 housing units for municipal and federal staff. The funding will be recovered through rental revenue rather than property taxes, with annual rents projected at roughly $443,000 once the units are occupied.

“This is a win for Parks, a win for the town, and a win for the people who get to live in these homes,” said Councillor Oliver during the meeting, calling it “a real-world example” of how the two agencies can collaborate on the valley’s most pressing issue: housing.

From Talk to Tender

The idea for a shared staff housing development on Squirrel Street surfaced earlier this year when Parks Canada approached the Town to explore a partnership on its centrally located property. The two lots, just south of Banff Avenue, offer 21,000 square feet of buildable space, a rarity in the tightly controlled land base inside Banff National Park.

On September 18, Parks Canada issued a demolition tender for the existing structures on the site, signaling the first step toward redevelopment. With Council’s approval now secured, the project moves into the design and tender phase, where the exact mix of units, building design, and total costs will be finalized.

Two formal agreements are being drafted to govern the partnership:

• a Memorandum of Understanding outlining responsibilities between the Town and Parks Canada, and

• a Lease Agreement defining how the two parties will co-manage operations and maintenance once the project is complete.

Although the cost-sharing split has not yet been finalized, officials expect the arrangement to be roughly 50–50, subject to adjustments once tenders are received.

A Non-Tax Housing Investment

Unlike many previous housing projects, the Town’s $6.25 million contribution will not come from general tax revenues. Instead, the units will be operated on a cost-recovery model, with rental income used to cover debt servicing and operating expenses. This model is designed to ensure that Banff taxpayers do not subsidize housing for non-residents, while still addressing critical workforce shortages in local public services.

The Town will return to Council with a borrowing bylaw and financing plan once the final costs are established.

A Rare Piece of Land

The importance of the site cannot be overstated. Under the federal Banff National Park Management Plan, the town’s boundary is fixed and surrounded by protected lands, making developable property scarce. As Councillor Oliver noted, “land is king,” and securing a centrally located parcel through a cooperative deal represents a significant opportunity to build staff housing without relying on new land allocations.

For Parks Canada and the Town of Banff, two of the area’s largest employers, the development addresses a shared problem: the inability to attract and retain employees in a town where the vacancy rate hovers near zero and average home prices remain among the highest in Alberta.

A Piece of a Larger Puzzle

The Squirrel Street project also reflects a shift in housing strategy. Previous developments such as the Ti’nu apartments, a 131-unit affordable housing complex built by the Banff Housing Corporation in 2018 on Cave Avenue, along with various employer-led builds, have added units in recent years, but the pace has lagged far behind demand. According to municipal records, more housing has been built or approved in the past 18 months than in the previous decade combined, but most of that supply is still under review or construction.

By partnering with Parks Canada, the Town can leverage federal land and funding to accelerate delivery while retaining a say in how the housing is allocated and managed.

What Comes Next

Design work will begin this fall, followed by tendering. Once costs are finalized, Council will vote on financing, paving the way for construction to begin. No completion date has been set, but demolition is expected to proceed in the near term.

For now, the decision represents a rare moment of alignment between two levels of government in Banff, one that could shape the town’s housing landscape for years to come.