Compared to the first quarter last year, housing starts have more than tripled, going from 241 to 814.

That’s what comes out from the data compiled by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The rental market takes the biggest part, with 80 per cent of houses under construction, which is 668 new homes. The percentage rises to 96 per cent when we’re adding the condominium’s niche and its 114 units under construction. That leaves us with two market segments, which are single-family residences (21) and semi-detached and row houses (11).

Clear Domination

While the market was getting hot in Laval, Montreal’s census metropolitan area (CMA) saw its housing starts drop by 37 per cent.

On March 31, we could count 5,057 housing units under construction, a shortfall of more than 3,000 units compared to the same period last year. Had it not been for Laval’s performance, the decline observed in Montreal’s CMA would be around 50 per cent.

Laval has quintupled its weight in the metropolitan balance for this first quarter. In 2021, the city-region had seen 241 new housing units, counting for three per cent of the 8,080 units started on the whole territory of the CMA, while this time its 814 houses are counting for 16 per cent of the 5,057 housing starts identified by the CMHC.

Last December 31, Laval concluded the year with 2,270 new constructions, which represented a 20 per cent drop compared to its activity level of 2020.

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article Housing Starts are Exploding in Laval est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

Partner with MONTONI and the Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ in this mega development project right in the centre of downtown, Groupe Sélection has delivered the first of the two residential towers on June 1. The second tower will follow this July. They can accommodate more than 700 rental condos.

Commercial offer

In May, the consortium unveiled 11 new commercial agreements, bringing to 16 the number of banners that will partially occupy the ground floor of a two-storey basilica.

Those are the Sésame restaurants, bars and cafes, La Belle et la Bœuf, Olivia’s Authentic Chicken, Milestone, Souvlaki Bar, Starbucks, Zoe Dessert & Presotea St-Mathieu, as well as an Aisle 24 grocery store, the Béa et Lunetterie Parade Institute.

Those businesses are joining the French chain Ange Boulangerie, Kababgy’s lebanese cuisine banner, Benny&Co and Poulet Rouge, announced last year.

There would be only five commercial premises left to rent, explains David Paulozza, vice president of planning and development at MONTONI and consortium’s spokesperson. He specifies that he first stores will open this summer.

As for the second floor of the basilica, which will notably house the Courtyard hotel by Marriott International, there will mainly be office spaces and a possible daycare centre, according to the projected plans.

Office Tower

Furthermore, we’re planning to deliver the 16-storey office tower in the fall. The tower is located at the corner of Jacques-Tétreault and Lucien-Paiement streets, and is 335,000 square feet of rental space.

However, if the pandemic doesn’t seem to have affected commercial’s and residential’s rentals pace that much, the same can’t be said for leases of office space, while in the midst of a health crisis, companies were forced to turn to teleworking.

That being said, Paulozza is “confident” to make up for lost time, saying that negotiations are going well with many interested tenants.

“Right now, companies are looking for ways to bring employees back to the office,” Paulozza said while pointing out at the “avant-garde design and open spaces” of offices, but also the “social experience” offered by Espace Montmorency through its “local services”. “In a labor shortage context, it’s easier to retain its employees and to hire others by offering them a stimulating work environment.”

On the other hand, the eighth floor of that tower, whose terraces overlook the inner courtyard of the complex, has been completely redesigned in favor of a huge space dedicated to collaborative work with, in bonus, meeting rooms made available to tenants. That floor is connected to the hotel thanks to the walkway overlooking the courtyard that can be seen on the architectural renders that have been circulating for the past five years.

Hotel in December

Announced last February, the Courtyard hotel should open its doors next December.

Let’s remember that the establishment, built for $45 million, will have 188 rooms spread over the 10 floors of the tower located in front of the Place Bell entrance, at the corner of Lucien-Paiement and Claude-Gagné streets.

Connected to the metro station, the hotel will have an underground parking lot with 1,500 spaces to serve all residents, workers, customers and visitors of Espace Montmorency.

At last, without the pandemic, the unbridled rise in the cost of raw materials and the labor shortage, the multifunctional complex will be ready on time and with the planned $450 million budget when work began in the spring of 2019, Paulozza says.

translated by Alec Brideau

L’article Espace Montmorency is Welcoming its First Tenants est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.