Hwy 105 north

By Trevor Greenway
Local Journalism Initiative

Wakefield could soon be expanding north. 

When Sylvain Viau puts the finishing touches on his 55-acre Esplanade Wakefield development, a new village neighbourhood will rise between Mclaren Road and the current Hwy 105 north. 

And once the Hwy 5 extension is completed, these new residents could have a walkable route into the village, through a multi-use pathway. The pathway will replace the stretch of Hwy 105 between the intersection of Maclaren and Hwy 366 and Alcove, where the new Hwy 5 extension will end. 

“That path is in the plans of the Ministry of Transport to convert Hwy 105 to a multifunctional path, which to me, is one of the nicest spots on the 105 right now,” said Esplanade developer Viau. “It would make a fantastic path to walk down to the village.”

While Viau’s vision is a full neighbourhood – 250 or more units depending on the capacity of municipal services, which include apartments and affordable housing units as well – he was clear that only Phase 1 of his project has been approved by the municipality, which is 13 homes on one-acre lots that will “integrate well with nature.”

Viau was adamant that he is not turning the end of the village into suburbia. 

“The general vision is: [the homes] have to be houses with a rural feel,” said Viau, explaining that home sizes will be restricted to a maximum of 3,000 square feet for one-storey homes and 1,800 square feet footprint for two-storey buildings. 

“It won’t be these suburban, big dwellings or mansions or brick turrets – they have to integrate well with nature. But they can be Scandinavian models. They can be mid-century. They can be craftsmen or log-ish or like. They can be a bunch of different things, but they have to kind of fit the vibe of a forest setting close to the water.”

Viau, who lives in Wakefield,  is a civil engineer by trade and has expertise with these kinds of developments after working on the Chelsea Highlands development near Larrimac. Viau said he is taking his knowledge from that project and applying the nature-first mentality to his new Wakefield project. 

While Viau said he doesn’t want to limit prospective buyers too much with design restrictions, he has hired local designers and builders who live in the Gatineau Hills to help keep that “village feel” intact. He is working with Wakefield architect Sally Vandrish from Spike Studio and Terra Construction for the builds, although prospective buyers won’t be forced to use their services. 

“They have passion for this place,” said Viau about the local designers and builders. “They love this place, and they won’t have to explain to you at the grocery store why they blew up a mountain.” They’re not blowing up a mountain, but instead integrating a neighbourhood within the big hill at the top of Maclaren Road, he said. 

While Phase 1 is just 13 houses, the full neighbourhood will be designed with natural walking paths, trails, river lookout spots, a wetland, a community park and some commercial buildings.  

“We also understand that the municipality and everyone want more housing density – cheaper units and all of this stuff. So it’s kind of fitting both,” added Viau. “Affordable housing, multi-generational housing, and different types of housing – we’re looking into all of this for future phases.”

He said that future phases of the higher density buildings, including apartement and affordable housing units, would connect to the municipal sewer system. 

Viau said he believes affordable housing is “not a developer problem. It’s a social problem,” and argued that, while he is happy to be one voice on the issue, he believes solving Canada’s housing crisis should include regional, provincial and federal governments and, ultimately, legislation. 

Esplanade lots are currently selling between $195,000 and $225,000. Two have already been sold. Visit the project at www.esplanadewakefield.ca