Iqaluit high-rise proposal takes another step forward
Planning committee supports rezoning; deputy mayor cites need for more 1-bedroom units in city
Iqaluit’s planning and development committee backed a rezoning bylaw for a plot of land where TBG Construction Ltd. is hoping to build three high-rises, like the one in this rendering. (Image courtesy of the City of Iqaluit)
One of the largest residential and commercial plans proposed for Iqaluit has cleared another hurdle in the development process.
At its meeting Tuesday, the city’s planning and development committee voted unanimously in favour of recommending the rezoning of a plot of land west of Sivumugiaq Street, which would allow construction of three eight-storey mixed residential and commercial buildings.
The proposed development, by TBG Construction Ltd., would include 435 housing units, city planner Michelle Armstrong told committee members.
The high-rise proposal was previously presented to the planning committee in November. At that meeting, councillors told city staff to organize a community meeting to discuss the project, rather than go ahead with the rezoning.
Approximately 30 people attended that Jan. 22 public meeting where residents shared concerns about firefighting capacity, vehicle and pedestrian traffic, water servicing, unit sizes and affordability.
Since then, TBG updated its plans to include vehicle access routes, pedestrian walkways, a new parking layout, outdoor storage and a play area.
A site servicing assessment also confirmed sewer capacity in the area is good and in line with an agreement the city has with Qikiqtani Business Development Corp. to serve developments on the nearby Inuit lands.
TBG’s rezoning application outlines the types of apartments the buildings may have, including 184 two-bedroom units and 96 three-bedroom units.
A full traffic study and an assessment of firefighting needs are underway and would need to be completed before the city grants a development permit.
Armstrong noted the development permit and rezoning would be granted together but at a later stage in the process and by city council.
“The approval of the development permit application will be tied to the zoning in this case,” she said.
“Third reading of the zoning [bylaw] will not happen until council has a development permit application that they are happy with and are willing to approve.”
After receiving planning committee approval, the rezoning application will be heard by city council at a future meeting.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, Deputy Mayor Kim Smith said seeing the project move to this next step is “exciting.”
She also pointed to the need for additional one-bedroom apartments in Iqaluit. While this proposal mostly includes two- and three-bedroom units, there’s the potential for more smaller apartments to be added.
Smith said some organizations in the community house single employees in multi-bedroom spaces that could otherwise be used to accommodate families.
If more one-bedroom units are built, larger units could house families.
“In our community, there’s a significant amount of people who are under-housed but adding to that factor there’s also a significant amount of people that are over-housed,” Smith told reporters.
“I would hope that, as there are more one-bedroom units being built in town, that some of these organizations that are using [multi-bedroom units] would start to move staff into housing that’s more appropriate for them.
“For two- and three-bedroom units that are currently occupied by people who have no business having that much space, [that] would allow them to shift into a smaller unit, thus freeing up those units for families.”
C’mon with it! I want to get out of staff housing and leave the GN entirely!
There is no business in town that has demonstrated they can properly manage a building even a third of this size.
This will become a slum in short order, complete with bedbugs and eventually, cockroaches.
Will there be on-site superintendents available at all times?
Obviously, more housing is needed, but this will be a gong show. Both of these are points are true.
Is the Brown not at least a third of this size?
Can cockroaches survive in that environment? I’d always assumed not.
You should check out the brown building. And we have no cockroaches up here. Bed bugs are very rare, they are only brought up from the south
“…occupied by people who have no business having that much space”.
.
Maybe the Deputy Mayor would like to volunteer for a small one-bedroom unit? If she’s the dictator in charge of assigning how many bedrooms people are allowed to have?
There are a number of councilors who appear to oppose the construction of any one bedrooms (the mayor suggested an all out ban last year).
Councilor Smith’s point is about allowing people and organizations the OPTION for smaller units.
You have cut of the end of her sentence which is about choice…
Definition = If you say that someone has no business to be in a place or to do something, you mean that they have no right to be there or to do it
Sure… unless context says something different … context like the other half of a sentence…. which in this case says something different…
i DoN’t WaNt AnYtHiNg BuT fOuR bEdRoOmS aNd ThReE pIcKuP tRuCkS
I would love to be allowed to trade my extra empty bedroom for another $20K per year.
You are not paying an additional $1667 to have a 2-bedroom over a 1-bedroom.
While Canada conducts country-wide census, every 5 years (next census will be in 2 years), the City of Iqaluit population has probably increase since the last census., since the last census. At the risk of offending some people, there are more visible non-Inuit in the City, in the last few years. That is fine, but this influx of new residents must be taken into consideration, in any new housing plans. We know that Nunavut faces severe housing shortages, but regional centres, like Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay face are facing more housing shortages. Any increase in housing options is welcome, but more current data should be available to the municipalities and building developers.
I’m interested to know the source of the info about people over-housed in staff housing comes from.
Stats Can’s 2021 Census data is public. Of Iqaluit’s 2710 households, 720 are one-person households, and 445 are one-couple households. 42%
Stats Can also reports Nunavut’s housing stock is only 15% 1-bedrooms. 1,420 units in the entire territory.
Safe bet that there are more than 500 over-house household in Iqaluit, and that many would prefer a less expensive 1-bedroom option.
www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/dv-vd/cpdv-vdpr/index-eng.cfm?statisticsProgramId=3902&activeIndicatorId=21120141&visualizationGeographyLevelId=5&focusGeographyId=2021A00056204003
Thanks for the link. I was more curious about the staff housing part of the deputy mayor’s statement, or in other words, how does the city know that staff housing is being underutilized?
For reference, CMHC reports that 44% of rental units in Iqaluit are various forms of staff housing. And “The rental survey for 2023 included 1,923 rental units. In addition to the units in the survey, the Nunavut Housing Corporation administers over 500 social housing units, approximately 22% of all rental units in Iqaluit.” (https://assets.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/sites/cmhc/professional/housing-markets-data-and-research/market-reports/northern-housing-report/northern-housing-report-2023-en.pdf)
It’s a good point, and I’d like to see the source as well. If the people referred to are GN staff, if they get moved out of their 2 or 3 bedroom units, it’s usually not other GN staff that are overcrowded in housing. And if they are, it’s because underhoused relatives live with them that don’t qualify for additional GN bedrooms. For example, if you’re a married couple with 2 adults kids with no housing who each have a common law and 2 kids each, well technically you only qualify for a 1 bedroom, might be lucky still living in a 2 or 3 bedroom that you had when your kids were young, but you’re still living with 10 people in the house. I don’t think there’s a lot of people on a waitlist for a larger unit in staff housing (could be wrong).
People in public housing are underhoused, often for the same reason that they have grown children with kids living in their public housing unit to create the overcrowding. But I guarantee you there’s few (if any) single or common-law people with no kids living in a 3 bedroom public housing unit.
where? where is that? where will the big building be build ?
i bet more then half the iqaluimiut dont even have a clue where this is gonna be build, all of you dont mention MUCH as to WHERE ? but shure we can read complaint and all kind of comment, we can read about parking, and this and that but, what about… W H E R E ?
Please provide a map showing exactly where this new building will be located with respect to existing roads and infrastructure. Simply saying “west of Sivumugiaq Street” is just not enough to give the reader a clear picture of this development proposal.
Across the street from Blackheart, on the BBS lot, behind the pink Inuksugait Plaza building.
Build three 72 storey building. House all of iqaluit in them. The other towns should do the same. No going far for shopping. All in one building.
Like that one building community in Whittier, Alaska right?