thenorthernview.com/breaking … 02141.html
What do people think of this development? Locating on the old Elizabeth Apartments site.
5-6 story building, integrated with hotel, office, apartment spaces, with restaurant.
As long as they off set the amount of taxes the average citizen pays I’m in favor.
I thought what was needed in Rupert was more rental housing for those that currently can’t afford the rental rates out there? Even the rent for one bedroom suites has been on the rise and some, not very nice either!
Wow… I think this is a great idea.
Anyone putting the money into building a new place is certainly not going to be doing it to provide cheap housing. They are going to want maximum return, which is commercial and hotel. A hotel room can provide (potentially) $3000-$5000 per month income for 1/4 the square footage needed for an apartment.
This will be high end executive rentals in part by the sounds of it.
People coming into town are astounded at how dumpie many available rentals are …
Many seniors who want to sell their homes would now have a better quality rental alternative.
Sadly there is no way this type of investment is going to be used to provide lower cost rental to people already in the rental crunch… Rental property at the lower end can be a tough business as owners costs climb and some tenants are not the best…
[quote=“jamesbrown”]This will be high end executive rentals in part by the sounds of it.
People coming into town are astounded at how dumpie many available rentals are …
Many seniors who want to sell their homes would now have a better quality rental alternative.
Sadly there is no way this type of investment is going to be used to provide lower cost rental to people already in the rental crunch… Rental property at the lower end can be a tough business as owners costs climb and some tenants are not the best…[/quote]
IMO there is a HUGE gap in PR housing market for this type of housing.
Rupert is lacking low-end and high-end apartments.
This is great news! There is so much industrial development happening and its terrific to see the ancillary benefits of this. Hopefully this is the first of many developments that will revitalize our downtown core.
Too bad this group couldn’t purchase the monolith that is Digby Towers ! There are no better views in town than those from Digby and think what $30 million could accomplish there. That sad hunk of cement has been sitting empty for almost 8 years now, would be nice to see it revived into a useful building. All the accomodations referred to for this new construction could definitely be built into the Towers. Office space, rentals and hotel rooms, possibly not another restaurant but do we really need another anyway?
Digby towers is an eyesore and should be torn down. I can’t imagine that it would be feasible to repair it, the foundation looks like it needs work, unless you have a whole lot of money. I have heard tho at one point that Macro Properties was interested in it. This new property they want to build will be an improvement to all the ugly buildings that sit vacant. We need old fixed and new development. We need to have Rupert not to keep looking like an old run down town.
edit
Digby Towers is owned by Macro Properties and they are planning to start renovation sometime this year according to an interview they gave the paper back at the end of 2012 (see below)
thenorthernview.com/news/173764441.html
That being said - while Digby Tower has some great views, there is no way it beats the view of this potential development.
Cost for a cummy house right now is $1000.00 a month. $1,000!!! IF you can find one. Good luck finding mid-range housing cost in Rupert in the coming months.
I wonder how many rental owners are going to evict their tenants to get around the regulated rent increase? If City Council was wise they would be looking at drawing awareness to the rental shortage in the coming year. I guess if you can’t afford $1,000 a month people will have to move to Cedarville or BC Housing. I can see already housing is a big issue for low-income families. I can’t imagine they, or anyone who can’t pay $1,000 a month will stay in Rupert.
Yeah, they’ll have great views from that old site, the silos, CN rail and don’t forget the “jungle” right below their windows where all the junkies hang! I would take Digby anyday over that. Besides, at Digby they are close to the PAC and the rec. centre and the trails and McD’s. Important. PR needs housing for low income and it needs to fix up this town. Houses are dumpy, roads are horrible but when it comes to catering to the high income bunch, well, come on down. Why do we need another hotel? We have enough and one right next door to this new building.
Agreed. If they pay their fair share of taxes I’m also in favour.
Telling a business they can’t develop in our town, isn’t going to get us anywhere. Again, people bitching and whining about stupid things. You think the people who are building this hotel should be responsible for dumpy houses, shitty roads, failing infrastructure? Get real. As for us having too many hotels, by the end of this summer, there will be NO VACANCY signs up everywhere, because the companies who are coming into town, to do all of this work to get our little city prospering again, are going to be putting their employees up in hotels. There will be lots of opportunity for a hotel business in town, and a hotel hires more than a few people to work. It is ALL good for Prince Rupert.
Taxes pay for roads and many other things that people bitch and complain about. New business = more taxes paid, and more people employed. I just can’t wrap my head around why people would think this new development is anything other than good news. Hell… it’s even making use of a giant ugly vacant lot.
I’m not impressed by the design of this proposed building.
It’s boring and boxy. But I suppose it will fit in nicely with the buildings nearby.
Ditto … and I agree about views of the jungle, CN and silos it’s a joke in many respects… the elite can have it… I do like the area around Digby Towers better as well, however I don’t see anything happening there regardless of what the article on the subject said…
It’s amazing how people can find a way to bitch even when there’s good news.