This text is part of the special Real Estate section
Initiatives that help low-income populations.
New student accommodation in the capital
In the Quebec City region, students are mostly tenants (84%), according to the Work Unit for the Implementation of Student Housing (UTILE). Among them, 60% devote more than a third of their monthly budget to their rent. “The situation is not rosy,” admits Laurent Levesque, general manager of the non-profit organization whose mission is to offer a quality home at low cost to future graduates of the province. “In Quebec, it’s really difficult to find affordable housing, and even to find housing at all,” he summarizes.
As a solution, his team developed the L’Ardoise project, an 8-storey building with 205 units for students. In the building currently under construction, which is taking shape on Chemin Sainte-Foy, a stone’s throw from an entrance to the Université Laval campus, there will be two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments, as well as studios. The latter, offered starting at $606 per month, will be equipped with appliances and a high-speed Internet network.
Students will be able to move in in September 2023 for the start of the school year, but interested parties can already submit an apartment request online, since the beginning of March. “What best demonstrates the extent of the crisis is that we opened the rental, and in just two weeks, we had more applications than housing,” illustrates Laurent Levesque.
To proceed with the selection, the USEFUL will for example favor those who are more in need; applicants are asked to indicate their income on the web form. In view of the significant demand, a second construction project in Quebec is also on the program. “We are currently looking for land for that,” notes the general manager.
Started in 2020, the L’Ardoise project is, according to Laurent Levesque, proof that it is possible, by thinking outside the box, to obtain solutions to the shortage of student residences in a short time. L’UTILE develops and manages the design of housing from A to Z, which guarantees control of all parameters and unforeseen events.
It also relies on free market partners. “One of the elements that allows us to carry out projects quickly is that we don’t wait for government initiatives, we will work first with private investors and then we will seek public funding. “, emphasizes Laurent Levesque.
L’Ardoise, whose total cost is $36 million, is funded by the provincial government ($4.6 million), federal government ($31 million) and the City of Quebec ($200,000).
A second life for social housing in Laval
On March 10, 2023, the Quebec government announced that it would release 25.5 million to refurbish 74 dwellings in the Val-Martin housing complex in Laval. This investment marks another step in a larger project: that of giving a second wind to this dilapidated sector which welcomes immigrant and vulnerable populations in the heart of the Chomedey district.
It all started in 2016. In the Val-Martin area, half of the 534 social housing units are vacant due to unsanitary conditions. Built in the 1950s, then bought by the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) in the 1970s to offer them for rent to the most disadvantaged, they notably show mold. Water infiltration, caused by torrential rains and accelerated snowmelt, wreaked havoc in 2006.
“There were all kinds of problems, it was poorly insulated, they were houses built in “two by four”, with the knowledge of the time, so it was definitely not breathing, there was no had no drain too. Some foundations have cracked […]. We had to rebuild,” says the director of technical services and development of the Office municipal d’habitation (OMH) in Laval, Sylvain Piché.
Faced with glaring needs, a vast project was launched in 2017. Grouped into three buildings, 124 low-cost housing (HLM) were completely destroyed, and the governments of Quebec and Canada are putting 28.2 million on the table to replace them. Ville de Laval also provides support. This first phase is delivered in 2020.
The two decision-making orders then invest more than 40 million in the construction of 4 new buildings with 235 dwellings, and Laval once again contributes part of its budget. Eight out of ten future tenants will be able to pay only 25% of their income each month for their apartment thanks to the Quebec Rent Supplement program. Assistance assumed 90% by the SHQ and 10% by the City of Laval.
The construction of 3 of the 4 buildings was completed in April 2022. The occupation of 4e building is scheduled for the summer of 2024. To create lively neighborhood life and provide services to the population, this last building will also house the new Simonne-Monet-Chartrand community centre.
Many other buildings in the Val-Martin sector need love. The very long-term objective is to create a modern district that responds to the vision of the mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer: a denser urban area, with green spaces and local shops, where the car becomes obsolete. Multiple ideas are on the table, such as the development of a school or a park. Public and expert consultations are yet to come, puts forward Sylvain Piché. “We have to think about where we are going with this. We are really at the beginning of the process, it will develop over the years, ”he summarizes.
The renovation of 74 additional dwellings, announced this month, will allow us to continue the vast process of revitalization of the Val-Martin sector, indicates Sylvain Piché. Residents of neighboring buildings, who have not yet gone under the hammer, will be able to be rehoused in “brand new” places rather than being put on the street during any work.
Ottawa once again supports Habitat for Humanity
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.