Moishe Alexander’s Blog

Montréal’s Villeray neighbourhood is a multicultural working-class area in a city with high rents and a vacancy rate of 4.4 per cent.

In the spring of 2008, a senior’s residence with 172 units will open in the district.

The Affordable Housing Solution

According to Canadian Funding Corporation CEO Moishe Alexander this CMHC affordable housing solution is worthy of emulation.

Situated in Montréal’s Villeray district, the Résidence du Parc Jarry is named after the nearby park.With local services close to the project, residents will live in an environment where they will feel safe and at home.On the ground floor of this five-storey residence, there will be a dining room, a common room, a chapel, workshops and businesses (hairdresser, convenience store, drugstore, bank), a doctor’s office with a waiting room, an infirmary and administrative offices.

The developer, Groupe Mercadante-Falvo, is familiar with this type of project, since it has already developed two seniors’ residences. A market study conducted for the developer showed that 56 per cent of the 172 units will be leased when the project opens in the spring of 2008 and the remaining units should be occupied over the course of the following year.

As with similar projects in the past, the developer partnered with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
(CMHC), which granted Seed Funding. This program offers financial assistance to potential housing providers who are in the very early stages of developing an affordable housing proposal. CMHC also provided an interest-free Proposal Development Funding (PDF) loan for the project. PDF loans help with the up-front expenses incurred during the process of developing an affordable housing projectproposal. A PDF loan enables housing proponents to carry out the activities required to bring their proposal to the point where they can apply for mortgage financing. CMHC was also flexible in the terms of the mortgage loan insurance provided for the construction of this residence.

The monthly rental rates for the units have been set at $1,250 (34 rooms), $1,275 (52 rooms) and $1,325 (34 rooms). The rents include electricity and three meals a day.