K.C. Jordan, LJI Journalist
The Municipality of Shawville held a public consultation on Monday evening as part of a new affordable housing project a Pontiac construction company is hoping to bring to John Dale Street.
Shawville’s building inspector Charles Gallant said he has received initial plans from Maisons PAJ, the Luskville-based building company that has been erecting apartment buildings across town.
The new plans include four buildings of six units each, with one-bedroom apartments on the ground floor and three-bedroom apartments on the top floor.
Maisons PAJ’s Matthieu Jodoin said up to seven one-bedroom units will rent for $900, an “affordable” rate as defined by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) that the company was able to offer by participating in a CMHC program.
Monday evening’s consultation is part of a provincially mandated process designed to fast-track the rezoning process for certain lots if they are destined for affordable, social or student housing.
“Bill 31 was introduced to help in reducing the delays in making changes to have more density within the territory,” Gallant explained, adding that the lot is currently zoned for single dwelling residential and would have to be rezoned in order to make the construction possible.
“Typically a zoning process could take up to six months, versus this system here within about six weeks we can deliver the permit,” he said.
He said the consultation is needed because it is a part of the process for the new rezoning bill, and is an opportunity for residents to express their opposition or opinions about the project.
Gallant has received the location plan and drafted mock-ups of the building’s facade from Maisons PAJ, but has not received an official permit application yet because the company must first get approval for a CMHC program that would give it certain insurance incentives for building according to specifications including high energy efficiency, accessibility, and affordability.
Once the application with the CMHC is approved, the builders can then submit their plans to the municipality to acquire a permit.
Gallant said these apartments fill a need in the Pontiac for updated housing stock at an affordable rate. “The housing stock is getting old in the Pontiac, so it’s a rare opportunity to have a new building,” he said.
Jodoin said he wanted to offer housing that is cheaper than what can be found in Aylmer or other areas of Gatineau.
“What we’ve done is we’ve tried to make new housing so that it’s as affordable as possible for the sector,” he said, adding that two-bedrooms apartments they can rent for $1,300 in Shawville could rent for over $2,000 in the city.
“Two bedrooms at $1,300, it doesn’t exist even at the North Pole,” he said.
He said the three-bedroom housing would be ideal for families, and the one-bedrooms for seniors, especially because they are located on the ground floor.
Once the construction is complete, Maisons PAJ will sell the building to its eventual landlord.
In order to ensure affordability, Jodoin said in the contract there will be a clause to stipulate that the rent of the affordable units will begin at $900 and that it will only increase by the rent cap or less every year.
Affordable housing needed to fill the gap
Office d’habitation du Pontiac director Sherry-Ann Doyle, who manages nine buildings across the county containing social housing, said more affordable housing is welcome but there is still a large demographic of people who can’t afford to pay.
“One of our criteria is that the person cannot make more than $25,000,” she said, adding that most people housed in her buildings are on welfare, and she is having to turn people away because they don’t meet the criteria.
“The issue I’m seeing a lot is I have people who [ . . . ] will come in, they’re making, let’s say, $26,000, $28,000, even $30,000. It’s not a big income, so they’re not eligible because they make more than what is our maximum allowed income here,” she said, adding that even people working relatively low-wage jobs often cannot afford to pay market rent.
Doyle said an increase in affordable housing availability might begin to help people who don’t meet the criteria for social housing, but who also don’t make enough money to pay market rate for housing in the region.
“There’s a need for it, for that gap of people that are not admissible to our apartments,” she said.
Although Gallant did not know the exact vacancy rate for rentals in the Pontiac, he said “it’s not very high.”
Jodoin acknowledged that low supply also means higher rental costs, and although many people in the Pontiac are in low-income situations he hopes that more construction and investment in the local rental market will help to stabilize rent costs.
“The fact of building more [ . . . ] even if it’s high-end, it tends to increase the offer and stabilize the local market,” he said, adding that he hopes to break ground on the new housing project sometime this year.
Gallant said he has been in contact with other prospective builders who might wish to build affordable housing in Shawville, but none have formally presented him with plans.
“Until it’s in my hand, it’s just a dream.”