The Corporation d’habitation Jeanne-Mance (CHJM) has commissioned a private firm to analyze the “economic viability” of a project of three eight-storey towers that would add up to 150 housing units for low-income tenants in downtown Montreal, learned The duty.
The firm 2Architectures was selected in the last few days to conduct this study, following a call for tenders launched last July. This contract for professional services is therefore intended to carry out a financial feasibility study concerning the construction of three buildings that would be built along Ontario Street East, within the limits of the vast Habitations Jeanne-Mance lot.
“We want to have the financial package with the current construction costs because it has increased a lot,” explains project manager Geneviève Blouin, of the CHJM, who indicates that between 100 and 150 housing units could see the light of day in these three towers. . The contract also aims to study the long-term “economic viability” of the operation of these dwellings, indicates the notice of invitation to tender.
“The desire of the board of directors is to be able to develop new units,” confirms the general manager of the CHJM, Patricia Bouchard. A major question remains, however: “Are we going to be able to do it?” »
The use of a private firm to study this file was also requested by the City and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which are both owners of the Habitations Jeanne-Mance site. The co-owners thus wish to obtain an overview of the costs of carrying out the project and its long-term operation.
Because, currently, “we have the support to study the question, but we have no commitments on their part to finance the construction”, explains Mr.me Bouchard, in reference to the City and the CMHC. As the latter is a federal entity, the project cannot benefit from subsidies managed by Ottawa. The CHJM also doubts that its project is eligible for provincial programs, such as AccèsLogis and the Quebec Affordable Housing Program.
“We cannot fit into any financing program” because of the particular structure of Habitations Jeanne-Mance, sighs Mme Bouchard. “It’s not something that will be resolved easily or quickly. »
affordable housing
Established in 1958, the CHJM manages the largest social housing complex in Quebec, with nearly 800 units spread over 28 buildings occupying a vast quadrangle located halfway between the Quartier des Spectacles and the Latin Quarter, in Ville-Marie.
For this new project, however, different options are on the table. The rents offered in future buildings could, for example, amount to at most 95% of the median market rents in this sector, says project manager Geneviève Blouin. The units would then be considered affordable under certain subsidy programs.
If this option is chosen, the rents could prove to be higher for the tenants of these future buildings than those offered in subsidized social housing, where public funding makes it possible to offer these at 25% of the income of the occupying household.
“We are in a central district, so the median rent will be much more expensive than a few years ago,” notes architect Ron Rayside, of the firm Rayside Labossière, who therefore doubts that the housing that will emerge in part of this project are truly affordable. However, in a context of lack of funding for social housing projects, in Montreal as elsewhere in Quebec, it is not surprising that several organizations opt for housing that can be offered at a higher rent, according to him.
“Unfortunately, the median rent is the market rent, and that shouldn’t be considered. It is social housing that should be considered on public land” in order to meet the needs of less well-off tenants, also underlines the coordinator of the Ville-Marie Housing Committee, Éric Michaud.
Patricia Bouchard, for her part, assures that the CHJM, which is the manager of Habitations Jeanne-Mance, intends to maintain its vocation of providing accessible housing to “low-income” people, as it has done for decades. “We don’t want to get out of this mission,” she said.
“The idea is not to exceed the median rent,” adds the director general, while recalling that it is too early, at this stage, to determine exactly what types of housing could see the light of day in this project. “We haven’t gotten there. »
One thing is certain, there are no plans to eat into green spaces on the Habitations Jeanne-Mance site to carry out this project, but rather to focus on paved areas, such as parking spaces, indicates Ms.me Bouchard.
Respond to the request
It is currently unknown when the construction of these towers could see the light of day and what will be the timetable for their completion. Demand, however, is strong. The CHJM has waiting lists totaling 350 households who would like to be able to occupy social housing on this popular site. A number that will continue to increase in the coming months, according to Patricia Bouchard.
The Ville-Marie housing committee, for its part, supports more than 1,200 households in their search for social or affordable housing in the borough.
Joined by The duty, both the City and CMHC have expressed their desire to see the Habitations Jeanne-Mance housing stock expand, without taking a specific position on this three-tower project. This, recalls the CMHC, is at an “embryonic” stage. The federal body therefore did not want to advance on the funding that could be reserved for it.