“The speed of construction is spectacular,” said Vincenzo Rubino, one of the project promoters, with a mixture of astonishment and pride, during a site visit offered to the News writer.
Started just a few weeks ago, the construction of the six-story building in partnership with the Werkliv company is progressing very quickly. The sections of the building arrive completely manufactured from Granby by AVAC Béton to be assembled on the Trois-Rivières site.
“It’s like assembling Lego blocks,” illustrates Angelo Rubino, one of the members of the second generation involved in the family business, also owner of the Trois-Rivières franchise of the Mr Puffs dessert bar.
Angelo and Vincenzo Rubino on the construction site of the 92-apartment building Le Gosier. We clearly notice the prefabricated sections of the building. (Gabriel Delisle/Le Nouvelliste)
This new construction technique using prefabricated sections greatly accelerates the erection of the building. By the end of January, all six floors must be completed and the building must be weathertight.
“We can already start building the interior before we have finished the structure. We can now integrate trades on the site that normally arrive much later,” notes Angelo Rubino.
“There are even windows already installed on the wall portions. Usually we ask that towards the end.”
Estimated at nearly 28 million, Le Gosier should be ready to welcome tenants from next July in its new fully furnished one or two bedroom apartments. If the construction technique used does not allow savings on costs, it favors with rentals from next summer a much faster return on the investment, indicates Vincenzo Rubino.
One million to decontaminate the site
The Rubino group first purchased the land where Le Gosier was located until it burned in the 1990s to construct a commercial building to establish a Rubino chain shoe store. However, the company instead chose to establish itself on Boulevard des Forges, leaving room for other projects on Boulevard des Récollets.
Used as a landfill in the past, the site had to be decontaminated first. And the operation was very expensive. More than a million dollars had to be spent for the decontamination of the portion of the land which houses the building currently under construction.
“There were a lot of things to change before building, but it’s a location that is so extraordinary with a lot of potential,” says Angelo Rubino.
“We are targeting a clientele of young professional adults. There is a housing shortage and we believe there is demand for this clientele.”
During the completion of the residential building project in Trois-Rivières, a more than interesting purchase offer was presented to the Rubino holding company. Last April, the family business founded in Terrebonne in 1987 sold its thirty stores to the American company Richter. The Rubino group, however, retained in the transaction several lands and buildings where their former stores are located.
Le Gosier returns to the Trois-Rivières landscape
If it has never left the memory of the many Trifluvians who passed through it over the decades, the name Le Gosier had effectively disappeared from the landscape since the business burned down in 1995. Aware of the importance of this brand for the community, the developers wanted to revive it.
“It’s really good that we remember the name Le Gosier,” confides the daughter of the founders of the brewery Suzanne Marcotte.
“Le Gosier is a beautiful story that has left its mark on Trois-Rivières. The place had a lot of people working with its hundred employees at the same time.”
— Suzanne Marcotte who founded the Café Morgane chain with her brother
Founded in 1973 by Jean “John” Marcotte and Jeanne “Jane” Duval-Marcotte, Le Gosier left its mark on generations of Trifluvians who frequented the place for meals, shows and festive evenings. The place was also welcoming to women, Suzanne Marcotte was keen to point out, unlike the taverns of the time which completely prohibited their access.
Both the project promoters and Suzanne Marcotte want the memory of Le Gosier to be preserved in the new building. “I would very much like to see beautiful large-format photos of the brewery inside the building,” notes Angelo Rubino who in addition to being involved in the day-to-day affairs of the family business, co-hosts Grains of Hope, a podcast that addresses several topics related to addiction.
