For Those Who Call The Kootenays Home
We’ve watched the pressure on our communities continue to grow as housing moved further out of reach for our friends, families and neighbours.
More and more people were being forced to leave the places they call home, while others remained trapped in an increasingly expensive rental market with little hope of ever owning a home.
Rather than accept this as the new normal, we set out to find a practical solution to the housing crisis by bringing a proven model to the West Kootenays that treats housing as essential infrastructure rather than a speculative asset.
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.
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.
Purpose-Driven
As a social enterprise, 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.
Brian Cutts came to the Kootenays nearly thirty years ago for the mountains and the people—and never left. A professional engineer, he has worked on projects with significant human and environmental impact, including tailings dam repairs, environmental emergencies, roadway failures, and spill responses affecting downstream communities.
While providing housing in Nelson, he heard firsthand from tenants being priced out of the communities they serve—bringing into focus a growing gap between essential workers and the communities that rely on them.
Built for the Future is a natural extension of his work: focused on the systems, environments, and communities that matter most.
Arianne Chagnon has spent her career building organizations that put people first. She co-founded an environmental non-profit in Quebec and has worked directly with vulnerable populations in care settings. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Community, Public Affairs, and Policy from Concordia University.
She serves on the board of the West Kootenay Watershed Collaborative and is Senior Project Manager for Built for the Future, leading grant research, stakeholder engagement, and community outreach.
Arianne is driven by scalable solutions and brings a consistent focus to every role she has held: a deep commitment to the communities she serves.
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 since built 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 outcomes.
As Construction Lead on Built for the Future, he ensures the homes meet today’s construction realities while supporting the delivery of durable, attainable housing.
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