Iqaluit developer scales back apartment plans

Phase two of Nunavut Construction Corp.’s Inuksugait plaza will contain more commercial space and fewer residential units.

Iqaluit city council approved amendments made to the development permit for phase two, to be built this summer, during a meeting this Tuesday.

Initial plans called for 28 dwelling units on the ground floor of the mixed-use building. The new plan converts all 811 square metres of the ground floor to commercial space.

Plans for the upper floor still propose 38 residential units.

Michele Bertol, the city’s director of lands and planning, said the applicant made the changes to better reflect current demands in the city.

While Iqaluit continues to suffer from a housing shortage, developers have expressed frustration that they’re exposed to more risk and uncertainty by the Government of Nunavut’s plans to pull out of staff housing.