Nunavut Housing Corp. eyes Lower Base area for new Iqaluit elders housing

These boarded-over housing units in the 1000-block area of Lower Base may be torn down to make way for badly-needed housing for elders. (PHOTO BY DAVID MURPHY)

Iqaluit may get a new elder’s complex in the near future, in an area of Lower Base near the beach that is now occupied by houses 1002, 1004, 1006, 1008 and 1010.

On Aug. 8, people living near the area received letters that told about the possibility of a new two-storey, 20-apartment elders complex.

“We would like to know your opinions and thoughts on the building being built there,” read the letter, signed by senior tenant relation’s officer at the Iqaluit housing authority Erika Alexander.

Unit 1004 remains damaged by fire, and unit 1008 is contaminated with heating oil after an incident in which vandals broke a fuel line while ransacking the house.

The good news is that there is no contamination issue with the soil underneath the home (as is the case in other Lower Base areas), said the Iqaluit Housing Authority’s general manager, Laurel McCorriston.

McCorriston told Nunatsiaq News that the city could “easily fill” 20 units for elders in the city.

For now, “it’s really only exploratory, how many units could we build, what kind of configurations could we look at. We’re really just discussing on a conceptual basis at this point,” said Alain Barriault, president of the Nunavut Housing Corp.

Applications to the city for rezoning and variances still need to be issued, and the City of Iqaluit still has to accept the plan.

But if all falls into place, the NHC could issue tenders this fall, and start doing construction in the summer of 2014 Barriault said.

“We’re trying to define need a bit better, and also trying to define what options are out there,” Barriault said.

“So we’ll do both processes in parallel and that way we can reach a conclusion that much faster,” he said.

From what Barriault sees, the demand for the complex is big.

“On a fairly regular basis we get people approaching our office. They really need a space in the elders centre and they don’t turn over all that quickly,” Barriault said.

Barriault said the current buildings sit on land that the NHC intends to build on, including one house that is currently occupied, which will need to be moved.

“Often times we’ve had to remove older, smaller buildings to allow us to do redevelopment,” Barriault said. “It’s an option that we don’t prefer because we really need every house we can get.

“And in other communities where land is available, we never opt for replacing units if we can keep them running and keep them occupied,” he said.

Barriault said that although the NHC is pushing for more public housing as part of its new housing strategy, which was tabled recently in the Nunavut legislative assembly, the NHC is “still turning over rocks and looking to see what we can find” in terms of other options for a proposed new elders’ complex.

“We’re still searching for other lots and possibilities, but unfortunately in Iqaluit there’s limited develop plans available.”