SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — A seven-storey apartment complex has been dominating the skyline in downtown Summerside lately.
The new development is co-owned by brothers Dave and Lucas Arsenault, of Arsenault Bros. Construction.
Dave Arensenault is looking forward to seeing it come together.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s nice to see,” he said.
The building is the tallest in Summerside and sits at the intersection of Water Street and Heather Moyse Drive.
Construction began in July 2019 and the units will be ready by fall 2020, said Arsenault. Currently, work on the interior of the building is underway.
Around 100 people have worked on the project so far, said Arsenault.
The ground floor will be indoor parking while the floors above will be filled with one- and two-bedroom units with a water or city view. The top floor units are two-bedroom units between 1,150 and 1,230 square feet.
Of the 70 units in the building, 62 are already spoken for. Forty units will be rented at market value while units on the first two floors – 30 units in all – will be managed by the province as affordable housing units.
The P.E.I. Department of Social Development and Housing said Tuesday, there are approximately 330 people on the affordable housing registry in Summerside. Island-wide, there are around 1,000 people waiting for affordable housing.
To help with building costs, Arsenault Bros. received a loan of close to $15.2 million from the National Housing Strategy, delivered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The strategy supports affordable rental housing construction options close to public transit and services for modest and middle-income individuals and families.
Egmont Member of Parliament Bobby Morrissey is glad to see the project come to Summerside and looks forward to more developers reaching out with creative (housing) options.
Morrissey said in the past, low-income housing developments have had a negative reputation.
“The minute you said where you were at, you were labelled, and that’s not right.”
He is glad to see a combination of price points in one building.
“You can only do it in a large complex like that.”
He sees the new building as part of urban renewal in Summerside.
For the municipality to grow, there must be housing options, he said.
“Not everybody wants a single-detached home, so it’s important for municipalities and cities to have an array of housing options … if it’s not there, people are going to fill their housing needs someplace else.”
