Editor's Note -- weekly column by Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson. He can be reached by email here. The next Quesnel City Council news will be January 9th, 2019
Quesnel’s building and renovations scene is booming; any reputable company working in the home renovations or building trades will tell you that they’re booked solid for some time to come and that they’re struggling to find trained and competent workers, especially tradespeople, to keep up with demand. This is good news for our local economy, and the trend will continue in 2019.
As the two multi-unit housing projects in downtown Quesnel move into the finishing stages, we expect to see two new multi-unit housing projects start in 2019: the Elliott Street project and the recently announced BC Housing sponsored project in North Quesnel. These large scale housing projects will provide lots of opportunity for local workers and local suppliers and will continue to boost our local economy during construction.
Council hopes to add to these public sector housing projects with some private market housing developments and is embarking on a comprehensive reassessment of our community’s housing needs with a view to creating a new, detailed strategic plan for housing, from shelter to high-end market housing. We know we have a significant housing issue and that it is not limited to social or affordable/accessible housing needs but also encompasses the need to have more modern, high end single family residential housing and multi-unit housing options.
There is already a mini-boom in single family residential housing underway, with newcomers buying lots in existing subdivisions to build new homes and others undertaking significant renovations in the community’s existing housing stock. There is also market pressure on owners of rental housing to upgrade their offerings and that pressure will only increase as Council introduces its proposed secondary suite bylaw and maintenance bylaw (which will set minimum standards for rental housing).
On top of all this construction activity on the housing front, Council is working hard to commence construction on the new public works facility in 2019 as well. This is a long overdue project for our City and we’re very grateful to the citizens of Quesnel for giving Council the mandate (with 76% approval on the referendum) to build a new facility to create a more efficient and effective workplace for our public works employees.
Two other large scale public sector projects are also going through their approval process with the hope of getting a decision from the provincial government in the 2019 budget: a new junior secondary school at the Maple Drive location, and the addition of a new intensive care and emergency room facility at G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital. Depending on the provincial government’s approval process, the very early stages of these projects could commence later in 2019.
There are also two other large-scale projects being put forward for grant funding in January, 2019: a major renovation to the Arts and Recreation Centre, and a proposed new Indigenous Cultural Centre at the confluence of the Quesnel and Fraser Rivers. If we’re successful with the Recreation Centre grant (which is being submitted by the Cariboo Regional District at the request of the North Cariboo Joint Planning Committee) the provincial and federal governments would provide 73% of the funding for this project. A successful application for the Indigenous Cultural Centre would see the senior levels of government provide 100% of funding needed for this project.
All-in-all, 2019 is shaping up to be another busy construction year for Quesnel, with many of the approved or applied for projects continuing our construction boom beyond 2020
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