Apartments nearly ready
Tenants expected to be in new homes shortly
The team behind an apartment redevelopment in Port Hawkesbury say they could be just days away from having an occupancy permit in their hands.
Breton Apartments, formerly known as Canso Court, has been the subject of a lot of activity over the last several months, as the first of the four buildings was gutted and reconstructed.
“We have people moving in very soon, like in a matter of days,” Danita Rooyakkers said in an interview. “It’s kind of exciting. It’s not 100 per cent finished yet but we’ll have our occupancy permit hopefully and they can get in.”
Over the years, the buildings had fallen into a state of disrepair and have been vacant for a number of years. The buildings found their way onto the market almost two years ago.
Rooyakkers, who was originally from the Port Hawkesbury area and who went on to become an architect and partner in the Montreal-based firm BUILD, purchased he properties along with partner Attila Tolnai.
Rooyakkers said there has been a lot of interest shown by potential tenants, with more younger people contacting them than she had initially anticipated.
“The response is very favourable,” she said. “I think the tenants will be very happy in there.”
The basic layouts of the buildings were maintained, but the developers are refinishing everything from windows to insulation to new floors to repairing the roofs to new entry systems.
Tolnai said they are focusing on completing the interior of the six units that have been rented to date, then the contractor will complete the remainder and put the finishing touches on the
building’s exterior, including siding, the addition of balconies, landscaping and parking.
Work on a second building will likely begin even before the first is completed, he added. They have generally scheduled about six months to complete each building.
Aspects of the work have taken longer than expected, but Rooyakkers said they are generally pleased with how the work has progressed.
“In general, construction … is longer and more expensive than planned,” Tolnai added.
“There were no big unforeseeables, all the planning that went into it and all the materials and all of the product and everything is all going off much like we expected, there’s just been a few delays with some of the workmanship and some of the deliveries of kitchens and things like that,” Rooyakkers said. “Generally, it’s coming together very nicely.”
With the four buildings, there are 48 rental units in total, ranging from studios to two bedrooms. There will be an emphasis on landscaping with plans for communal gardens.
The developers have been working with Housing Nova Scotia and half of the units will be designated as affordable — there is a process available by which possible tenants can apply for one of the affordable units.