An ambitious social housing project inspired by Vienna, Austria, is about to see the light of day in Longueuil. Depending on what The duty has learned, a quadrangle bringing together hundreds of housing units for seniors and other vulnerable people, who will share access to a park, will be built on City land located next to Jacques-Rousseau high school.
The first stage of this development will be unveiled Monday morning by Mayor Catherine Fournier and ministers from the governments of Quebec and Canada, who will confirm the construction of the first Unitains residence in the greater Montreal region. Around a hundred units intended for low-income elderly people will be built on municipal land located at the corner of Roland-Therrien Boulevard and De Gentilly Street East.
The developer undertakes to have “substantially completed the project” within 24 months following the start of construction, which is imminent. The City also wishes to identify up to three other non-profit groups by the end of the year who will build, on the same land, residences for people with disabilities or special needs.
“We are in the middle of a housing crisis, the goal is to accelerate construction to meet important needs,” confirms Duty the mayor of Longueuil.
The Mission Unitains organization, from promoter Luc Maurice, aims to quickly build 10 residences of 100 units each in as many Quebec cities. Tenants will pay rent representing approximately 30% of their disposable income. In addition to Longueuil, Unitain buildings have been announced to date in Shawinigan, Granby and Saint-Hyacinthe.
The residence for seniors aged 65 and over will have 97 units spread over six floors. These will include studios as well as one and two bedroom units.
Inspired by Vienna
This seniors’ residence will be the spark plug for a larger project likely to bring together up to four social or community accommodation buildings. The mayor of Longueuil says she had the idea for a quadrilateral like this during a mission to Vienna last year.
More than 60% of housing in the Austrian capital is of a social nature. “And a large number of these buildings share a common interior courtyard, which promotes a feeling of belonging and social diversity,” notes Catherine Fournier.
This large piece of land belonging to the City is ideal for building a new community “mini-neighborhood,” argues the mayor. The area is close to services and accessible by bike or bus. The Édouard-Montpetit CEGEP and its two performance halls, the Jacques-Rousseau secondary school, a youth center and an accommodation center for 16-21 year olds are located near this future development.
Public investments
The City of Longueuil plans to devote $5 million to the Unitaînés residence, the first step towards the development of a new district dedicated to social housing. The land transferred by the City is estimated at $2.1 million. The infrastructure (streets, waterworks, sewers, lighting, park, gas and electricity supply) will be built by the City.
A three-year municipal tax credit, an exemption from transfer taxes and permits of all kinds, as well as possible decontamination of the land at the City’s expense are also part of the agreement.
Quebec and Ottawa will invest $23.5 million in the construction of the building. The two levels of government recently agreed to invest $900 million each in social housing.
After construction, Unitains undertakes to transfer the building to the City as well as to pay $500,000 into the reserve fund and $10,000 into the project’s operating fund. The developer also undertakes to begin construction of the building within 30 days of signing the deed of transfer.
Federal Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (National Revenue) and her Quebec counterparts Lionel Carmant (Social Services) and France-Élaine Duranceau (Housing) are to join the mayor of Longueuil and representatives of Mission Unitaînés on Monday to start the construction site.