City seeks public feedback on 3 towers proposed for Iqaluit
Proposed building complex would create more than 400 new housing units in the city
One of the three proposed eight-storey buildings which TBG Construction Ltd. hopes to build in Iqaluit, shown in this rendering. (Photo courtesy of TBG Construction Ltd./City of Iqaluit)
A development that could add 437 new apartment-style housing units in Iqaluit is the subject of a public consultation session later this month.
The meeting is a chance for residents to learn more about the developer’s proposal and provide feedback, the City of Iqaluit said in a news release Tuesday.
A draft plan of the proposed building site on Sivumugiaq Street, where a developer wants to build three eight-storey mixed-use residential and commercial towers. (Image courtesy City of Iqaluit).
The development proposal would see three buildings up to eight storeys tall constructed to provide up to an estimated 437 housing units. It would also include a commercial component with a new hardware store.
The proposed building site is along Sivumugiaq Street north of Inuksugait Plaza.
Approval from city council will be required at several stages, including rezoning the property, amending the city’s general plan and development permit approval.
The public meeting will be held Jan. 22 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Cadet Hall, 944 Mivvik St.
City council first heard about the proposal from municipal planning staff in November last year, when councillors unanimously voted to hold public consultations on the project to be built by TBG Construction Ltd.
At that meeting, Deputy Mayor Kim Smith said it’s important to get feedback from the public because the proposal would “drastically change the skyline and look and feel of our city.”
Does the fire department have the man power, resources and equipment required to fight a fire in a large apartment building of this size?
The roads are already congested at rush hour of people going to and from work, is this going to create greater congestion and back up traffic?
Will the water source handle an additional 30-40 million liters of usage per year? That is two people per unit 800-1000 people total at 100 liters per day per person 365 days a year.
Will the sewage treatment plant be able to handle an additional 30-40 million liters of waste per year these new buildings create?
Will the dump be able to handle the increased garbage?
I know Nortmart, and Ventures has not increased their grocery store footage or freezer/cooler storage in a couple decades. Do these two grocery store frequently run out of food?
My question is, are the 400 proposed units going to over tax local infrastructure and services or can they handle it?
Your concerns are all valid; however, we have to think (hope) that not all of the units are going to be occupied by new people. There are way too many people in crowded housing and on lists to get housing who already live in town. So probably not much more usage in water/sewage/garbage than already occurs in their current living situation and similar enough food consumption from those who are already living in town.
These are genuine concerns which the city planners should review. I encourage you to attend the the town hall consultation and present copies of written submission. The city planners might have not considered some important matters.
That aside, housing is needed throughout the territory, any addition should be welcomed, there’s a lot of homelessness most of which is unreported, congestion is a result of inadequate housing. Actually, we need more than a thousand new units in Iqaluit alone!
Make some room for our homeless that’s on waiting list & some sort of shelter for men all year long
Is there a building height limit in Iqaluit/Nunavut? I want to know when we’ll see our first 9+ story building.
I think it has to do with the fire fighting equipment in the city and if it is over 8 floors then it needs a step up in pressurized water system for fires.
More 4000$ a month 1-bedroom apartments for government workers. Nice and close to Black Heart. That will fix the housing problem.
This is surely an interesting proposal which could benefit Iqaluit as a whole. Creating over 400 apartments doesn’t necessary mean that the population in Iqaluit will increase beyond it normal growth, but it would help to reduce some overcrowded housing situations, and offer staff housing to Inuit and non-Inuit alike, which could furthermore enable the Government to fill some of the vacant positions. Additionally, there could be space allocated for social housing or homelessness reduction.
There are many pros, but they are also accompanied by cons. The ability of the fire department to engage in a fire situation, as mentioned in a comment above. I’m considering this the most important issue that has to be investigated on. The second concern is the traffic. Since the 4-way is the most essential bottleneck, the traffic will shut down this area completely.
Since the completion of such a project will take a few years, I’m not overly concerned about the water usage or garbage disposal. By the end of the construction, the current water issue should be resolved, and the new garbage facility running smoothly. I assume that the city has already considered some of the cons, and maybe already have some solutions discussed, but this will not happen overnight.
Overall, I’m in support of this project (and the new buildings close to Ventures), if the cons can be eliminated.
It would give Iqaluit a nice enrichment of colors, structure and an even better city feeling.
What is this fixation on ‘staff housing’? The GN Housing Strategy requires NHC to provide alternatives to close the other gap on the continuum – those in GN staff housing that are stuck there because there is NO market! Also, and this may be a leap of faith, a flood of available units in the market should make monthly rents more affordable. No GN employee is going to leave staff housing for $4000/month, no matter how many free-market units become available. But $4000/month for a 3-4BR with UTILITIES INCLUDED (Heat & Electricity) – that is considerable.
How many parking spots are included?
Will there be traffic lights?
Can QEC suply the additional pwer needs?
How many day care spaces?
Will there be a new school?
Will there be a new grocery store?
What is the proposed mix of units?
Will they be condos?
Will they be rented to individuals?
Will they be rented/sold to the GN and other entities as staff housing?
Will they be social housing units?
What are the details of the plan for Molloyville?
So many questions, so little information?
Whoa, hold your horses! you’re freaking out! calm down! the units are not planned to be built just yet, they’re only in the stages of proposing and wanting feedback from the city and you’re already asking about new schools, new grocery stores, why are you asking about those when the population is still the same? about the electricity, they would never just go ahead and build units without conducting the capacity of the powerplants capabilities. is the funding coming from you? seems like the funding is coming from you since you are so concerned and have so many questions.
Yes, Frank.
The funding is coming from me.
You should be freaking out, because the funding is also coming from you, if you live in Canada.
Molloyville will be built with lots of public money. And it will be the third biggest community in Nunavut. Only Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet have more than 437 houses.
So muclh homelessness in Iqaluit. We are growing. It only makes sense that more 8 storey apartment buildings are built. The terrain is rough and costly to expand the city limits. So a cost efficent solution is to build up. And we should.
Building the buildings will not increase the population of iqaluit. Building the buildings will contribute to the current homelessness issues.
If you think these will be built to house the homeless in iqaluit, boy do I have a bridge to sell you
no doubt. the gn will be signing lease agreements before the 1st floor is built.
Also, who is going to want to pay $4k a month to live in a building with a bunch of social housing?
There may also need to be 2-3 RCMP members posted there permanently. It would be safe to assume there would be a wide range of concerns.
Ideally, GN and NHC do not want to purchase any units as it is cheaper for them to rent annually than to pay the fees and maintenance on it, same as Feds.
I guess that these units will be leased to GN, NHC, and Feds along with the Local Housing Authority, the lease will pay off what the actual cost was to build these buildings.
If someone is submitting a proposal to build more units, what is the problem? Iqaluit is a growing city, and everyone will need to accept the consequences that come with becoming the capital of Nunavut. Your neighbor country Greenland built these and provided housing to its residents and managed it, Iqaluit will need to sooner or later.
Do not get me wrong I am 100% in support of “sustainable development”
“Sustainable” causing little or no damage to the current environment.
There is a proper pace to sustainable development, Not too slow and not too fast. As the finish line keeps getting moved every year there is a healthy pace to sustainable development where other infrastructure and services keep space.
This is a development journey that will continue tomorrow and will continue long after we are gone and people today need know we are building the foundation of our children and grandchildren so lets to it right.
8 Storey building in Iqaluit has been around for a long time.
Gaining extra units in Iqaluit will not only fill much-needed vacant positions, but it will help NHC, and PH shuffle according to their household needs and maybe long-term casual’s will be provided staff housing. It will eliminate the housing crisis, and hopefully lower the cost of the market as it’s outrageous, along with improving people’s health and life as they will not be in overcrowded units.
Main issue will be Federal approval due to height restrictions in the Flight path radius. They maybe allowed 4 stories basically, a minor stretch at 6 but I cannot see 8 although I would like to see more housing and sustainable place/jobs. 2nd issue is water resources. The new garbage facility and compactor areas will take care of waste disposal (non-issue). If you are building the new Mental Health Facility there will be many jobs there as well. Would be nice if those workers have a place to live before we build it!!! A field of dreams is only good if you have the players to play the game! Cheers
The city needs to provide more information about who will own the building and who will have access to the units if they want helpful feedback.
More Northreit buildings or another private landlord? No thank you. Buildings owned by an Inuit or NHC with a mix of public housing and staff units? That seems reasonable.
One of the three proposed eight-storey buildings which TBG Construction Ltd. hopes to build in Iqaluit, shown in this rendering. (Photo courtesy of TBG Construction Ltd./City of Iqaluit)
You forgot to read the fine print…
What a time to consider it’s feasibility, we have serious housing crisis in Nunavut. I heard once that in Nuuk that 1% of the Greenland population lives in a huge apartment complex. How’s the situation in that complex? Anyone know anything about it’s criminal elements? Drunkenness’, any other social Ills? We should just say thank you to the developer and leave at that. Let the city deal with the environment of the proposed development. The city has to grow; with the good and the bad…
For all the people asking all the questions, GO to the meeting, that’s why they are having the meeting duh!!!
With putting in so many people into such a small space there should be money gained from this to directly develop areas for single family homes in a new subdivision…. a new Apex even a few Km away if needed.