Short-term pain for long-term gain.
That’s what Coun. Clare Riepma, who represents Ward 1, hopes is the ultimate result after east-end Barrie residents lived through the construction of the city’s newest rental building.
“We need more housing in our ward, just like the rest of the city. It’s great to have a rental building. That is something we are short of in Ward 1,” he told BarrieToday, an affiliate of BradfordToday and InnisfilToday, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday at 41 Johnson St., an 11-storey, 215-suite, purpose-built rental building by Starlight Investments.
The project, which has been approximately six years in the making, didn’t come without some issues, the councillor acknowledged. While concerns voiced by residents throughout the construction about noise, dust and light may not have delayed the project, it did however delay his sleep, Riepma said
“When you put a building like this in a neighbourhood with houses across the street, you are going to have an impact,” he said.
That said, those issues were all “in the moment” and were addressed as best they could be throughout the construction process, the councillor added.
“For sure, it’s disruptive. The people across the street never had a line up of concrete trucks from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (before),” said Riepma.
The way to fix that, he added, was two-fold. Talk to the contractor to see what can be done to address resident’s concerns, and talk to residents and ask for some patience.
“We have to break the egg in order to make the omelette. It’s as simple as that," said Riepma. "Let’s remember, the neighbourhood didn’t really vote for this. They were opposed to it and so was the city. It was given to us by the Ontario Municipal Board, so I think the neighbourhood had the right to be complaining about it.
"But at the same time, we have to make the best of it and so we did (and) it looks like a good building and it will contribute to the community," he added.
Dubbed The Shoreview, the apartment complex is one of the first new rental buildings constructed in the province in quite some time, said Howard Paskowitz, vice-president of development and public affairs for Starlight Investments.
“New housing takes time and there is an urgent need now more than ever," he said. "It’s a learning experience (and) we can learn a lot from the process. The City of Barrie is very ahead of the curve in terms of encouraging development … and understanding we have an obligation to society to build new, quality housing.”
All types of housing are needed and all types of housing provide Canadians with places to live, Paskowitz added.
However, when something is built as a rental, it's done so with a long-term approach, he noted.
“We are putting in a lot more upfront to ensure long-term quality. It’s a commitment to the community and to our residents,” Paskowitz said. “As rentals, we know, as people move out, we are going to have to re-rent those units and this community over and over. There’s a lot of upfront thinking and upfront costs.
"It also allows us to amortize the cost of additional energy-efficiency measures over the long term, which works best for us.”
Any kind of new development is going to have some kind of an impact on the neighbouring community, said Paskowitz.
And while it did take some time to complete, they are very happy with the result, he added.
“There’s a benefit to the bigger city and the community that you’re utilizing existing areas with existing infrastructure and amenities," said Paskowitz. "What we try to do as much as possible is create these complete communities. Hopefully, (residents) are working nearby. We’ve got shops, service, Lake Simcoe, (we are) bordering a park.
“We chose this location because it was one of our existing apartment sites where we have underutilized land and right now it’s a housing crisis. We feel like we know housing, there’s an obligation to provide more of it … So we said let’s try to come up with something here," he added.
According to Rentals.ca, rent for a one-bedroom unit is $1,799, while a two-bedroom unit is $2,049.