A net-zero affordable housing complex backed by a Métis investment group could be coming to St. Albert next year, says a local developer.
The Métis Settlements Development Corp. (MSDC) announced Oct. 5 that it has partnered with the real estate group TLA Group of Holding Companies Inc. to build a 362-unit rental apartment complex in Erin Ridge North on Edison Drive.
The project will be built next to the stormwater ponds northeast of St. Albert Dodge, said Troy Grant, managing partner with TLA. It will consist of two five-storey buildings and two six-storey ones arranged around a central courtyard.
“We’re aiming at coming as close to net zero as we possibly can,” Grant said, with the project incorporating rooftop solar, rainwater capture, heat pumps, electric vehicle chargers, triple-pane windows, and other technologies.
Grant said the project will feature about 36 units of affordable housing (i.e., housing that costs less than 30 per cent of a household’s before-tax income), with another 108 priced at market rates and 218 at 60 to 80 per cent of market rates. It will also have underground parking and ground-level commercial spaces. Located close to schools, transit, and jobs, Grant said the project will be a good fit for everyone from seniors looking to downsize, to students who have just moved out of their parents’ home.
Indigenous focus
The project has an Indigenous focus in accordance with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 92nd call to action, which calls on businesses to apply the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to their activities, Grant said.
Each of the project’s four buildings will be themed around one of the four sacred elements (earth, air, wind, and fire) to reflect their significance to Indigenous culture, Grant said. The project’s central courtyard will incorporate all four elements and include a healing garden, gathering space, and jogging track. Métis Elder Betty Letendre will work with area residents to find names for each building and the project itself, with the names likely paying homage to St. Albert’s First Nations and Métis history. TLA is also working with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business to ensure Indigenous companies can bid on contracts linked to the project.
The MSDC (a group which makes investments on behalf of the Métis Settlements of Alberta, which are the only land-based self-governed Métis communities in Canada) sees the Erin Ridge project as a good opportunity to invest in a real estate development with an Indigenous focus, said CEO Barbara McKenzie.
“Affordable housing is a critical issue for everybody,” McKenzie said, and this project should help produce affordable rental units for area Indigenous residents.
Grant said the project will reserve some number of the affordable units to Indigenous residents to counteract real and perceived biases against Indigenous renters, which should benefit the many Métis and First Nations residents in this region. (His team is doing demographic studies to determine the appropriate number.)
Grant said his team will hold open houses on this project in the next two months as they finalize the project’s design. He plans to apply for a development permit by January and to start construction next spring.
McKenzie said this project will help address St. Albert’s need for rental housing and is a good example of economic reconciliation, where Indigenous peoples take the lead in economic development.
“We’re really excited to be a part of this and to be a part of the St. Albert community,” she said.
Questions on the project should go to [email protected].
