Devcore CEO says the Gatineau project will provide two different types of units with rents to be about roughly 25 to 35 per cent of residents’ income, and the village will provide supports designed to them rehabilitate and transition to permanent housing.Devcore/Supplied
A land developer that provided heated tents and other services to a homeless encampment in Gatineau until it began to wind down the site earlier this month has reached an agreement with the city to build dozens of housing units made from shipping containers.
Devcore chief executive officer Jean-Pierre Poulin held a news conference on Thursday to unveil plans for Village Transition, a community made up of 60 containers that can accommodate up to 100 people. Mr. Poulin said rent for the units will be about roughly 25 to 35 per cent of residents’ income, and the village will provide supports designed to help them rehabilitate and transition to permanent housing.
Mr. Poulin, who expects the village to open before winter, said he hopes it will serve as a model for other cities.
“Homelessness is a real estate problem, and I think it’s up to the real estate industry to step up to the plate,” he said.
The number of people experiencing homelessness in Gatineau and the Outaouais region jumped to 534 in 2022 from 145 in 2018, according to the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services – an increase of nearly 300 per cent. Ottawa and Gatineau both declared housing and homelessness emergencies in 2020.
Devcore had been providing heated tents and services since December at a site near the Robert Guertin Centre – an arena that is slated for demolition. The company stepped in after two deaths at a makeshift encampment; no deaths have been reported since.
However, the agreement Devcore had with the city only lasted until May 15, as there were concerns about maintaining the camp in a parking lot in the summer heat. The city is allowing people to stay on the lot until demolition work on the Robert Guertin Centre begins.
The proposal for Village Transition will see the city lease out municipal land nearby for the container homes at no cost, as well as provide for hydro and sewers, but the agreement still needs formal approval from city council.
Devcore’s plans for the village include two types of suites. The first is a 100-square-foot bachelor room that will include a single bed, sink, toilet, counter, mini fridge and storage space. There will also be 150-square-foot studio units featuring a double bed, a full kitchen, a full bathroom and a terrace, the company said.
The community will also feature amenities such as two communal kitchens, a dog park, a community garden, and a bike repair shop. An intervention centre offering psychosocial support will also be present. Non-profit organization Transition Québec will manage the village for the next two to five years.
Mr. Poulin said the company is aiming to start construction by September or October, which he estimates will take four weeks. Construction is estimated to cost between $4-million and $5-million.
Residents will need to adhere to a code of conduct and show an interest in transitioning to permanent housing. Mr. Poulin said he expects tenants will want to upgrade from the bachelor room to the studio and eventually find an apartment of their own.
“We feel that it’s not a good idea for those people to be free all the time because they need to be prepared to pay rent … people from the outside should want to sign the code of life, get better, have the chance to move into the village,” he said.
As part of the services offered at the encampment, the company also helped people staying there file their income taxes, get their health insurance cards and apply for social assistance, Mr. Poulin said.
When services at the encampment near Robert Guertin Centre ceased earlier this month, resident Mathieu Boucher said he was left wondering what to do. But he’s happy with the village proposal and said he intends to apply for a studio unit.
“Finally, it’s passing from an idea to something real,” Mr. Boucher said.
Local councillor Steve Moran, who was at the announcement, praised the innovativeness of the proposed village and commended Mr. Poulin for taking a leadership role on the homelessness issue. But he said that more support from other levels of government is needed.
“What’s being proposed is a commercial endeavour, and that can’t be all there is. we still need a long-term plan for social, community and cooperative housing, family housing. This is not that,” Mr. Moran said.
“This is filling a space that the state is not filling. Great for the private sector to step in, but we need more than that.”