New housing deal for staff sets Banff precedent

by Quintin Winks

Banff Crag & Canyon

Banff Caribou Properties Ltd. is offering to help some of its employees buy their first home.

The deal is open to anyone who has been employed for more than one year in any of the company’s various business holdings, which include both of Banff’s Keg restaurants, the Caribou Lodge, Ptarmigan Inn and Hidden Ridge Resorts.

Caribou Properties will match the down payment–– up to $20,000–– of any of its eligible employees on any apartment in the Rocky Mountain Court building at 136 Beaver Street.

Called a vendor take back second mortgage, the matched amount must be paid back in 10 years, without interest.

If the purchaser quits or is fired from Caribou Properties, the loan must be repaid within six months of termination.

“It’s unprecedented, really,” said Randall McKay, manager of planning and development at the Town of Banff. “It makes you want to go and work for Caribou Properties.”

While employee retention seems the obvious spin–off from the arrangement, it is not the main driving factor, said Justin Burwash, director of finance for Caribou Properties.  “It is more about creating a positive, happy and healthy work environment which will show in everything else we do,” he said in an email to the Crag. “This program has already had a tremendous impact on enthusiasm and morale in all our locations.”

In addition, the advantage of keeping staff longer in a town where many frontline workers only stay for one season will likely be felt by the community as well as Caribou Properties.  “The longer an employee works with us the better they are at understanding what makes a guest’s experience extraordinary,” said Burwash. “Whether it be hotel services, retail shops, dining options, activity packages or simply knowledge of the company, the town and the park, the longer an employee is with us, the better they are at offering this.”  But retaining staff, creating a happier working environment and enhancing the visitor experience may not be the only advantages. The down payment–matching plan may also attract a higher caliber of staff and prevent them from moving to Canmore or down valley, said McKay.  According to the sales package, each of the 20 two and three–bedroom suites in the Rocky Mountain Court is “guaranteed an unobstructed, panoramic view” of at least one of Banff’s five surrounding mountains.

The complex is also centrally located and “receives the maximum amount of sunshine, year round.”

Prices for the various units range from a base of $163,900 for a ground floor two–bedroom unit to $209,900 for a fourth floor three–bedroom unit.

While the deal clearly raises the bar for attracting and retaining quality staff, it’s not something Burwash is expecting anyone to follow. They may not need to if the town provides amenities and activities for all types of recreationists “from the 20–year–old extreme athlete to the family that wants to go out for a bike ride with their five year old,” he said.  “Things like good schools, pathways, community centres, bike trails, well–kept sidewalks and streets, play parks and ice rinks are all key factors in influencing people’s decision to live somewhere.

“If the town continues to improve the quality of life with some of these amenities and activities then salaries and benefits may become less of a factor,” he continued.