Shediac Developer Approved To Build 21 Affordable Apartments In Moncton
MONCTON – A new apartment complex coming to downtown Moncton will not only add much-needed housing stock and make use of an empty corner lot, it will put 21 affordable apartments onto the market in an era of skyrocketing rents.
Danny Gautreau, a developer and president of Shediac-based DEG Complete Construction Group, will break ground on property at the corner of St. George and Steadman Streets in early November–and hopes to finish construction in June.
“It’s not high-end, and it won’t be $1,200 per month. Plus, we’re going to keep the rent reasonable so people can afford it. We want to provide apartments for working people looking for affordable housing,” Gautreau told Huddle in a call the day after his development was approved by Moncton’s Planning Advisory Committee (PAC).
“The idea is building smaller units and for the rent to be reasonable,” he said.
Price points for the 21 bachelor and one-bedroom apartments will range between $800 and $950 a month.
The air-conditioned apartments will range in size from 350 to 700 square feet, situated on the building’s three, 3,500-square-foot floors.
Gautreau, who owns both DEG and the numbered development company mentioned in PAC documents, received the committee’s blessing at its Oct. 27 meeting.
The PAC approval gives Gautreau the green light to rezone land at 34 St. George Street from a secondary business district zone to urban residential zone. The decision also plets Gautreau consolidate that land with 95 to 97 Steadman Street.
“There are two separate lots. We’re putting both lots in the same zoning so I can put a building on the two lots, which will be amalgamated,” said Gautreau.
When asked what it will cost to bring those 21 units onto the market, Gautreau declined to provide a price point, noting “I’m not even sure myself, at this point.”
Gautreau noted the new apartment building, right down the road from Resurgo Place, will be essentially identical to another he built at the corner of Weldon and Gordon Streets, “only in a more neutral colour.”
“It’s nice to have the support of the city so we can do what we do best,” noted Gautreau.
Gautreau, who specializes in building custom homes and apartments in the Moncton area, already has several more developments planned that he anticipates being on a similar scale.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].
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