The building is designed to be one of Charlottetown's premier property attractions
Despite the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, new apartment supply will be entering the Prince Edward Island housing market as work on a new $30-million, eight-storey complex on the Charlottetown waterfront is slated to begin within the next few months.
With planning estimated to be around 80% complete as of press time, the 99-unit building on Haviland Street will be developed by Pan American Properties.
The building’s rent rates are projected to be around 15% higher than those seen in average Charlottetown apartment units, according to Tim Banks, Pan American Properties president.
“It’s probably going to be one of the premier properties in the city so we’re making sure that we’re spending a lot of time on the detail of it,” Banks said in an interview with CBC News. “For me personally, it’s probably one of the larger-scale projects that we’ve brought to PEI.”
And while COVID-19 has muted the impact of immigration, higher-end housing units such as these continue to attract wealthy would-be buyers from other countries. This is a trend that might prove instrumental in reviving the sector after the pandemic, market observers have said.
Earlier this year, data from the PEI government indicated that a significant portion of foreigners magnetized to the island are Indian immigrants. The nation accounted for 42% of the nominees accepted to PEI over the past year.
Most of these Indian nationals are skilled professionals attracted to Canada’s flourishing industries, said Mary Hunter, director of operations at the province’s Office of Immigration.
“I think people are seeing Prince Edward Island as a destination of choice where opportunities exist. And we’ve been recruiting actively to attract folks that do want to stay and raise families here,” Hunter said.
