Whether you've lived here a month, a year or a lifetime, at some point you've no doubt come face-to-face with Jasper's housing shortage.
Just like the story of coming for a season and staying for a lifetime, the tale of house hunting鈥攐ften without success鈥攈as become a Jasper right of passage. That is, of course, for those who choose to stick around, sleeping on a friend's couch in between homes or bouncing from place to place every six months.
For some, the constant shuffle has turned into a timeline of its own. Instead of remembering an event by the year it happened, it's remembered by the corresponding house or apartment.
It's not uncommon to hear friends say, 鈥淢an, that was three houses ago,鈥� instead of three years ago.
That's what zero vacancy will do to a person.
Despite the frustration, though, there are some Jasperites who stick it out, choosing the stress of the annual apartment shuffle just to continue living the Jasper lifestyle.
It's for those folks, and the many seasonal workers who will choose Jasper in the years to come, that we're excited about the proposed housing developments on Connaught Drive and Turret Street.
Spearheaded by the Jasper Community Housing Corporation, the two developments are meant to help businesses struggling with staff shortages caused by the community's housing shortfall.
If built, the units will house new staff and, hopefully, allow existing staff to live in a healthier environment, taking them off their friend's couches and into their own apartments.
They will also open up family homes in the community, with some of the units in the Turret Street development being built for local seniors who are looking to downsize and move out of their homes.
That shuffle will provide housing for young families moving to town, as well as long-term residents who have been confined to whatever apartment was available to them.
For this project to move forward, the housing corporation needs business owners and seniors to express their interest and put their names on a list.
The window to express interest is short, with a Feb. 25 deadline, but we hope that doesn't prevent Jasperites from stepping forward.
The community desperately needs this project to move forward, not only for its existing residents, but to attract and retain the staff we need to operate during the busy summer season.
It may sound like a fairy tale, but once built, these developments could be just what we need to eliminate help wanted signs from our shop windows.
