The Kootenays are defined by the people who stay : the nurses, young families, and seniors who make our small towns thrive. But as the market moved beyond the reach of ordinary incomes, we saw our communities being hollowed out. We decided to be the ones to bring a proven solution to the West Kootenays: a model that treats housing as essential infrastructure rather than a speculative asset, ensuring that those who build their lives here can afford to own them.
Driven by a commitment to both people and the land, we combine high-performance, climate-responsible construction with a permanent resale covenant. By leveraging government grants and a transparent cost-plus model, we aren’t just building 20 homes in Salmo, we are creating a lasting legacy of attainability. Our goal is simple: to get homes as far below market value as possible, protecting the future of our community for this generation and every one that follows.
Purpose-Driven
We operate within a for-profit model, but our work is guided by non-profit values: permanent affordability, environmental responsibility, and long-term community resilience. We are not here to extract value from this community. We are here to add to it.
Climate-Responsible
Every home in this project is designed to reduce energy use, limit embedded carbon, and meet or exceed BC Energy Step Code standards. Passive solar. Low-carbon materials. Built to last 200 years. Building well is not a bonus: it is the baseline.
Community-Rooted
This project was built from conversations with people in the Kootenays, for people in the Kootenays. We measure success by whether the people who need these homes can actually stay in them, not just the first owners, but the ones who come after.
CEO of Lhasa Developments Ltd and Founder of Built For the Future
Brian Cutts came to the Kootenays almost thirty years ago, for the mountains and the people, and never left. As a professional engineer, he has spent his career working on local and international projects with real human and environmental consequences: tailings dam repairs, environmental emergencies, roadway failures, and tailings spills that threatened downstream communities. Having provided housing to people in Nelson, the heartbreaking stories he heard from tenants being priced out of the communities they serve made one thing clear: the gap between who these communities need and who can afford to stay is a problem that requires a permanent solution. His work on the Built for the Future project is a direct extension of a career built around the environments and communities that matter most.
Senior Project Manager, Co-Founder of Built for the Future
Arianne Chagnon has spent her career working in and building organizations that put people first. She co-founded an environmental non-profit in Quebec, has worked directly with vulnerable populations in care settings, and holds a Bachelor's degree in Community, Public Affairs, and Policy from Concordia University. She sits on the board of the West Kootenay Watershed Collaborative and leads the Built for the Future project as Project Manager, overseeing grant research, stakeholder relations, and community outreach. Arianne has always been drawn to solutions that work at scale, and she brings to this project the same thing she has brought to every role before it: a genuine care for the communities she serves.
Owner of Avail Custom Contracting Inc. and Construction Lead Of Built For The Future
Jeff Bruin is a second-generation licensed builder and owner of Avail Custom Contracting Inc. He took over the family business in Southwestern Ontario in 1999 and has spent his career building both production and custom homes with a focus on quality, efficiency, and precision. With decades of hands-on experience, Jeff brings a practical, solutions-focused approach to construction—balancing speed, cost, and craftsmanship without compromising the end result. As Construction Lead on the Built for the Future project, he ensures the homes are designed and built to meet the realities of today’s construction environment, while supporting the goal of delivering durable, attainable housing
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