a second building could see the light of day in Trois-Rivières

L’UTILE does not intend to stop there. A second building could see the light of day in the regional capital within four years.

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“This is our working scenario, but obviously in real estate, everything depends on a lot of elements. But we are committed. Once we have a project in Trois-Rivières, we are sure that we are committed so that eventually there will be others,” underlines Laurent Levesque, president and CEO and co-founder of UTILE .

The social economy company is on the front lines to see the extent of the housing shortage in Trois-Rivières. It should be remembered that the vacancy rate stands at 0.4%, the worst in Canada.

“Unsurprisingly, unfortunately, demand has far exceeded what we are able to offer. We have the capacity to accommodate approximately 200 student tenants here (at La Canopée). We received nearly 1,000 applications before closing the rental site because we didn’t want to create an infinite waiting list either.”

— Laurent Levesque, President and CEO and co-founder of UTILE

It is too early to establish how many housing units could be added in a second project. “It will depend on the location, but the needs are great. We think there is demand for a few hundred more apartments like those being built by UTILE. Trois-Rivières is a student town. We need to find solutions to accommodate the student population,” continues the CEO.

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Inauguration of the Canopy

But before thinking about a second building in Trois-Rivières, UTILE and its partners celebrated the completion of the Canopée. It was inauguration day, Monday morning, in the presence of many guests.

The brand new building is located less than ten minutes from the UQTR campus. It offers studios and four-and-a-halfs priced at $629 and $949, ​​respectively. To have parking, you have to add 80 dollars. Common areas have been set up both inside and outside.

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“It’s rare as a student to find yourself in a new apartment of this quality. I think the students of Trois-Rivières are lucky,” said France-Élaine Duranceau, Minister responsible for Housing.

She also stressed that the construction of the building respected the deadlines, and that it was carried out according to the planned budget.

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“One hundred and seventy-nine housing units, so more than 200 students who will live here. A project on time, on budget. That’s music to my ears.”

— France-Élaine Duranceau, Minister responsible for Housing

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“Remember on June 21 of last year, we announced the project, and a little less than a year later, it was the inauguration. It’s a demonstration of the ability to do things quickly. The needs are urgent,” added Jean Boulet, MP for Trois-Rivières and Minister of Labor.

According to the latter, this project will increase the attractiveness of Trois-Rivières.

“We know that we have a Quebec university here in Trois-Rivières which has an international reputation, which is involved in research, development, particularly around strategic sectors such as batteries, and everything that concerns ‘energy. So, it increases attractiveness, and we must not underestimate the impact of housing on accessibility to university studies and academic perseverance.”

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The General Student Association of the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (AGE UQTR) also welcomes this project to which it contributed an amount of $650,000.

“It doesn’t completely solve the problem, but it takes us towards a better future. We see that the demand is there, and ultimately, we hope that it will lead to other projects,” mentions David Lamoureux, finance and service development coordinator at AGE UQTR.

For Minister Duranceau, even if the needs remain significant, this new building has an impact. “Every project contributes. In the case of student housing, we serve two objectives. There is a domino effect. We house students and we free up accommodation which will be able to house families or, depending on the size, single people.”

She also praised the UTILE model. “Yes, there are subsidies, but there are other financial tools, and we all need to move towards that. The housing crisis is an issue that is obviously human, but the solutions are financial, and UTILE embodies this renewal well in terms of financial model.”

More and more housing

UTILE also has projects in Montreal and Quebec. Others are being built in Sherbrooke and Rimouski. It built around 600 homes in four years.

She plans to speed up the pace. It aims to start construction on 500 to 600 new housing units per year in the province. “We already have the projects, we already have the partners, and we already have the capabilities to carry this out. I believe that the crisis calls for a response on this scale,” says Mr. Levesque.

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As for the mayor of Trois-Rivières, he would welcome another UTILE project. For the construction of the Canopy, the City provided the equivalent of $4.3 million in tax relief.

“I can tell you that there are already prospectors, promoters, entrepreneurs who have made approaches to UTILE. […] I think the model is very interesting, super effective,” said Mr. Lamarche.

For us, this solves part of the housing crisis. We still have a long way to go, but creating 170 doors and housing more than 200 people is part of the solution. Not just student housing, but the entire housing crisis.”

— Jean Lamarche, mayor of Trois-Rivières