ACCOMMODATION. Nine months. Here is what was necessary for the Le Sentier housing project to go from an idea to a feasible project. No less than 84 housing units, intended for people with modest incomes, are being built.
“In Drummondville, people want things to move. Clearly, we see that it works. A few weeks ago, we announced 100 units with the Unitains project. Today, 84 housing units are being developed by the Drummond Housing Office (OHD). Everyone is aligned,” said the Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, during a press conference held Monday.
Le Sentier will be a six-story building, located on rue du Meunier-Rouge. “These are all three and a half which are intended for people with modest incomes, that is to say our workers who earn less than $50,000 per year. These are accommodations that will be rented for around $750 per month. It’s going to have parking spaces for everyone as well. The built environment is safe. It’s a quality building that will be delivered,” mentioned the general director of the OHD, David Bélanger.
Note that the building will be equipped with sprinklers and two elevators. The accommodation will be accessible for people with reduced mobility and the 14 apartments on the ground floor will be adapted.
The Les Découvertes residential district represents a prime location, according to David Bélanger. “In terms of the development of social and affordable housing, we are seeking to establish ourselves in all districts of the city. We are not trying to densify or create a neighborhood intended for these clienteles. The Les Découvertes district is located near Saint-Joseph Boulevard and Place Charpentier. All services are available nearby in the Saint-Nicéphore district,” he said.
The construction of a building with 84 affordable housing units meets a significant need in the area. “The vacancy rate right now is 0.5%. The price of housing hits hard for less well-off customers. Housing that was affordable a few years ago is no longer affordable. We must build housing that people will have the means to pay for so that they can maintain a quality of life, but also be able to contribute to the social economy,” argued David Bélanger.
The latter is delighted that the project is coming to fruition quickly, thanks to the mobilization of stakeholders in the region. “In just nine months, we went from exploratory discussions to excavators on the ground,” he said with pride.
Le Sentier plans to welcome its first tenants in the summer of 2025.
The building will be built as part of the Desjardins Affordable Housing Initiative, an innovative partnership between the government of Quebec and Desjardins which aims to quickly create 1,750 affordable housing units.
The financial package for the Le Sentier project is nearly $29 million, bringing together investments from the Government of Quebec, the City of Drummondville and Desjardins. Ultimately, it is the OHD which will ensure the management and maintenance of the building.
Efforts that bear fruit
In 2022, the City of Drummondville and the OHD developed an action plan which provided for the construction of 250 new housing units and the acquisition of 200 existing housing units by 2026, as part of the first phase.
The Le Sentier project marks the achievement and surpassing of the construction objective, informed David Bélanger. “Today we reached 284 new housing units,” he said.
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