Nunavut stands to benefit from 166 housing units to begin construction in 2024 – 146 public housing units and 20 more for staff housing – spread across 17 communities.
The announcement came from the Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC) and NCC Development (NCCD) Limited on Jan. 31. A design-build contract between the parties has an overall value of $134.7 million – which works out to approximately $670 per square foot in hard construction costs.
“The execution of these contracts aligns with the vision of Igluliuqatigiingniq Nunavut 3000 and reflects a significant increase in the annual supply of new public housing units desperately needed across the territory,” said Eiryn Devereaux, CEO and president of NHC. “One of the guiding principles of the partnership agreement with NCCD was to demonstrate value for money and realize significant increases to supply of new units.”
Construction is scheduled to start in autumn 2024 in the following communities:
-Chesterfield Inlet (8 units)
-Clyde River (8 units)
-Coral Harbour (12 units)
-Grise Fiord (6 units)
-Iglulik (20 units)
-Kimmirut (6 units)
-Kinngait (20 units)
-Kugaaruk (8 units)
-Kugluktuk (12 units)
-Naujaat (8 units)
-Pangnirtung (16 units)
-Pond Inlet (8 units)
-Resolute Bay (6 units)
-Qikiqtarjuaq (6 units)
-Sanirajak (8 units)
-Sanikiluaq (8 units)
-Whale Cove (6 units)
The 2024 Annual Allocation and Purchase Agreements represent the second year of investment in the decade-long partnership agreement NHC signed with NCCD to accelerate housing and ultimately meet the goals of Igluliuqatigiingniq with an increased “economy of scale.”
In its first year, NCCD began construction on 150 new public housing units. All the required building materials have arrived, and construction is now underway in most of the listed communities. NCCD is on schedule for completion of all 150 units within the next year.
“Our organization is committed to mobilizing Inuit-owned and Northern resources to build homes by and for Nunavummiut,” said NCCD chief executive officer and president Clarence Synard. “The Nunavut 3000 Strategy includes meaningful and effective training programs that will ensure we lead in the development of skills for Inuit who are interested in a career in trades. Specifically, we have an Inuit labour target of 30 per cent for our negotiated partnership contracts for public housing units and see this as an opportunity to increase training and capacity development for Inuit in the construction trades sector.”
The Igluliuqatigiingniq Nunavut 3000 Strategy investment is estimated at $2.57 billion, which aims to create up to 3,000 housing units across Nunavut by 2030, projecting a target of approximately $890 million (35 per cent) in private sector investment, and approximately $1.68 billion (65 per cent) in public sector investment.