By Alex Coop and Jordan Baker
acoop@estevanmercury.ca, jbaker@estevanmercury.ca
Estevan's housing shortage may finally be turning the corner.
New residential building permits issued by the City of Estevan through May 2014 were just under $7 million, while last year at this time the number sat around half that.
"I think there's finally enough product in the market, we don't have a shortage anymore," said Lynn Chipley, sales representative for Century 21. "We went from a shortage, to a small surplus, and I think over the next 12 months it will all be absorbed quite readily."
The North Point condominiums in the Dominion Heights community, Chipley said, are a large contributing factor to the minimized housing shortage in the area, adding the sheer amount of product being built by Trimount Developments alongside their plans for future development will prevent the city from falling back into the housing crisis it's faced for years.
"We shouldn't be the highest in the country, and I think that was simply a case of supply and demand," she said.
Dominion Heights is adding more than 50 lots to the community, and Jason Fleury, president at Trimount Developments, said letters have been issued to residents, who will be able to move in during the first week of August. Aside from a troublesome winter, Fleury said construction has gone relatively according to plan, adding the Fairview Villas have gone "really well," and will be nearing completion later this year. Though much has been accomplished this year, new projects are already fast approaching.
"We're launching a new two-story townhouse project which will come out probably in the next two weeks," he said, noting the pre-construction launch will take place in about a week and will back into a park which they are donating to the community. The project has been named Parkview Townhouses.
Wilhelm Construction is finishing up work on the Marisa Condos, a 55-unit condominium building by Trinity Tower.
Matt Dorling of Pinetree Developments, the company that's building the project, praised the modular condo project, which was the first of its kind in Estevan and significantly sped up the construction process.
"Our whole building from start to finish has taken 7 ½ months to complete, which is about six months faster than any other contractor probably in Canada can do that building for," he said.
Final permit inspections took place on July 17. Dorling and an architect will be performing an owner's inspection on July 25 to look for any deficiencies, which Wilhelm Construction will be able to deal with during the remainder of July. Occupancy will begin Aug. 1.
Estevan has completed the preparation of lots south of Wellock Road near St. Joseph's Hospital. Now dubbed Royal Heights Phase 3, that development will see 21 new single-family homes built and lots are now on sale for between $103,000 and $139,000.
With road work nearing completion to connect Wellock Road with Sister Roddy Road by the hospital, that will open up the northwest part of the city, making it more convenient for the greater number of commuters expected in that area of town.
Meanwhile, perhaps the largest proposed development, which would be built north of Wellock Road and west of Dominion Heights, has been slow to get going. The Meadows has been in various stages of pre-construction work for a few years, but if construction starts, the first phase alone would add almost 130 new single-family lots. Further phases would include high and medium density residences as well as further low density units.
Jackie Fitzgerald, realtor with Better Homes and Gardens Prairieview, noted there is a surplus of available housing on the Estevan market at the moment, though it doesn't seem to be slowing the construction of more new units.
"It's a guessing game as to what's going to happen here. The oil patch plays a big part of everything," she said, but added, "there's still stuff going on in Estevan."
