Developer Preps For First Two Of Six New Moncton Apartment Buildings
MONCTON — A local developer is ready to bring 96 new apartments to the Lewisville neighbourhood in the city’s northeast.
Eric Michaud, Owner of Michaud Developments, said he’s been working on serious plans to build two 16-unit apartment buildings between 415 and 439 Highlandview Road, north of the Veteran’s Memorial Highway for about a year.
These buildings, consisting of two perpendicular structures and 32 apartment units, Michaud plans to build on Highlandview are the first six apartment buildings Michaud wants to build in the area near the Lewisville Middle School.
He estimates each building will cost him about $3 million to construct.
Michaud told Huddle each building would contain 16 units each, with a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments, ranging from 700 to 1,100 square feet.
He said the price point would be in line with the market rate for rent of apartments that size, noting that he’s not aiming to build high-end rentals.
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Building apartments is no small investment, Michaud noted, noting that each apartment will cost in the ballpark of $200-300,000 to build.
“We don’t have parking garages and all those services. It’s going to be premium finishes but not high-end rent,” he said.
The development went before the city’s Planning and Advisory Committee (PAC) on September 28, where Michaud sought clearance to build more than one main building on a lot, in an already apartment-heavy neighbourhood.
So far, the PAC has approved the first phase of the project – the first two buildings Michaud has planned.
To construct the second and third buildings in his plan, Michaud will need to extend the street to accommodate the new development on the lot.
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Documentation from the City of Moncton also notes that Michaud is seeking clearance to reduce the distance allowed for rear-yard setbacks, remove the need to landscape the rear yard within four metres of the building, and increase the maximum space between jogs and recesses along the facade of the building.
Michaud said that part of the process involved the city mandating he reduce the height of his proposed apartment building, to accommodate the property being near an area zoned for lower-density R2 housing.
Michaud said construction on the first building could commence as soon as late 2023, depending on how things pan out before the PAC.
He was unable to provide concrete timelines for when the first of three buildings will go up, or when the others will be built, because his firm is still working on engineering and design-phase matters, such as drainage designs for the lot.
Michaud noted that his company specializes in all stages of development, from design to construction.
Michaud said it’s a good time to be building apartments in housing-hungry Moncton.
”I mean, vacancy rates have always been pretty low – we’re at two or three percent now and previously it was six percent or seven percent. It’s been steady so far,” he said.
“People are really looking for apartments.”
Recruiting staff to help with his development has not been a problem for Michaud, who said his company keeps busy year-round on residential projects with solid staff numbers.
“I have all my trades because we’re constantly building houses and stuff like that. As soon as we’re ready to go, it’s going to for sure,” he said.
Although the matter is still before the city, Michaud said he’s already getting calls from people looking to rent the apartments.
“We’ve had some interest, but we haven’t confirmed a date on when I’ll build it,” he said.
Michaud’s proposed apartment building is one of three three-storey, 32-unit apartments in an area mostly zoned for R3 (multiple-unit dwelling zone) developments.
“There are several other apartment buildings. On the neighbouring lot, there are two 76-unit buildings and there are some small townhouses,” said Michaud.
Michaud noted that his company mostly has specialized in new home construction in the past, but has recently pivoted to multi-family buildings
Michaud Developments specializes in building projects across the Maritimes. Currently, the firm is selling and pre-selling several single-family homes in the Lucas Street and Irishtown areas.
Editor’s note: This story was last updated October 7.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].