Below-market rent Maples apartment complex completely leased before completion

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This article was published 07/06/2023 (878 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Amirah Abdulsalam tugged at the door handle, revealing an already-leased three-bedroom apartment.

“Lots of tours were given,” she said, walking on the new vinyl plank flooring.

She stood near an quartz countertop — one of 83, assuming all of The Jefferson’s suites contain the same feature.

The three-bedroom unit was spoken for before the complex’s opening. So was every other unit in Paragon Living’s Jefferson Avenue building.

It points to a huge need in Winnipeg’s housing market, according to the company’s president.

“Even when it was fully leased, we still had people calling about it,” said Abdulsalam, Paragon Living’s leasing co-ordinator.

The hulking concrete and steel complex sold out after four months of advertising, said Nigel Furgus, Paragon’s president and CEO.

“We weren’t expecting 100 per cent (of units taken) before completion,” Furgus said.

Still, his team had a goal to open the apartment in June with no suites left available. Not only was the goal achievable, it was quickly reached. Within two days, at least 20 per cent of the building’s units were rented, Furgus said.

Those suites cost $1,085 a month to rent. The rent was based on 30 per cent of the median renter’s income in the area.

“We felt like bringing a high-quality product at a below-market rate would really speak well to the area,” Furgus said.

The rest of the one- to three-bedroom units range from $1,190 to $1,990 per month.

Paragon Living attempts to keep its apartments below regular market rates, Furgus said.

“There’s definitely an affordability crisis in front of us,” he noted.

The average one-bedroom apartment in Winnipeg rented for $1,293 in April, up 7.1 per cent from the year prior, Rentals.ca data shows. A typical two-bedroom rented for $1,617, a 7.4 per cent increase during the same time period.

The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate Wednesday — up 0.25 per cent — to 4.75 per cent, which makes getting a mortgage more expensive.

The Jefferson sold out of three-bedroom apartments first, Furgus said. He’s tracking more families, and more multi-generational families, renting rooms than in years past.

Several immigrant families are settling in the building, said Abdulsalam, who has met most of the new renters and showed them around the Maples complex.

Rising interest rates contributed to some tenants’ decisions to rent, though it wasn’t the most common reason, she said.

“(Many) got tired of doing the homeowners’ tasks of just mowing the lawn and stuff,” she said, adding living in the city and general downsizing were mentioned.

All tenants can move in this month. The $22 million complex, labelled “affordable luxury,” is finished on the inside. Parking lot construction should be completed by the month’s end, Furgus added.

“The uptake, the interest really speaks volumes to the need in this community,” said Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan), the city’s elected official for the area.

Several new schools have opened nearby, including Amber Trails and Templeton.

“Why are we building new schools? Because families are growing, and population is growing, and as a result, those families need a place to call home,” Sharma said.

The Kildonan–St. Paul federal electoral district had an 8.8 per cent bump in its population between 2016 and 2021. The area jumped from 84,077 residents to 91,480, according to Statistics Canada data.

The city has been focusing on affordable housing, alongside other levels of government, but there’s a need “to do more projects, and faster,” Sharma said.

Manitoba needs another 260,000 housing units by 2030 to restore affordability, a 2022 CMHC report estimated.

Meantime, it’s increasingly difficult to build apartments and charge rent under $1,000 a month, Furgus stated.

“We have inflation that we’re dealing with, a rising cost of construction, rising cost of land and a more competitive environment,” he said.

Paragon Design Build is behind the 69-unit apartment complex near The University of Winnipeg being constructed as affordable housing.

It has projects in the works at 939 Chancellor Dr., 670 McMillan Ave., 333 Wardlaw Ave. and 2140 Portage Ave. Build dates are slated for next year and in 2025, the company’s website details.

Tracy Zhao is happy 1325 Jefferson Ave. nears completion. There’ll be more parking lot space for her customers at Lucky Supermarket, and potentially more traffic from the nearby housing complex.

“I just hope the people come to our store,” she said.

The new building has bicycle parking, a fitness centre, a business centre and free high-speed internet.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com