Municipalities in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell are experiencing continued growth in both residential and commercial construction, with high prices in Ottawa driving both commuters and jobs further afield from the city’s core. But with each project comes a need to balance the needs of current residents and ensure a municipality’s infrastructure can handle the growth.
These factors are why all projects must undergo close scrutiny and meet a number of conditions before any construction can proceed – a process which can take several years. It is all part of ensuring the best interests of all parties affected are met.
“Whenever you have a draft approval you have many conditions that (the developer) has to complete,” notes Louis Prevost, Planning and Foresty Director for the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, adding that the size of both the projects and municipality where it is to be located are important factors. “There are requirements which relate to the size of the community and to the size of the development.”
Depending on the project, its size and impact on municipal services, the approval process can take many years. A large subdivision project in Casselman on which construction began just four years ago was originally submitted as a proposal in 2006. The size of the Casselman subdivision also means it will take many more years to complete, as it is being built in phases.
Water and sewage capacities are major factors in a community’s ability to absorb growth. Prevost says many municipalities in Prescott-Russell – particularly those in the westerly region of the county – have invested heavily in infrastructure to ensure they have the capacity to handle new residential and commercial construction projects:
“Limoges, Casselman, Russell, Rockland and Wendover have put a lot of money into their infrastructure (to allow) for growth.”
All residential and commercial construction projects planned for municipalities within the region served by the United Counties must go through the county’s approval process. The exception is the County of Clarence-Rockland, which developed it’s own approval system a number of years ago during a period of heavy growth. The United-Counties is kept updated and consulted on all of the projects going through the Clarence-Rockland approval process, however final approval rests with the county itself.
All of the other municipalities have their own planning committees and each of those works in conjunction with the team from the Planning and Foresty Department of the United Counties, which Prevost heads. The individual municipal teams work together with the United-Counties to steer all submitted residential and business construction projects through the planning process, which include public consultations and meetings, noise assessments, infrastructure plans and roadways.
As commuters have purchased houses east of Ottawa in the past decade construction has remained steady throughout the counties but there are always peaks and valleys in different areas. Casselman, Clarence-Rockland and even the small community of Wendover have all had very busy periods. “For five or six years we had constant applications in Wendover,” Prevost notes.
While commuters moving out of the city but still working in Ottawa and Montreal have driven some residential projects in the eastern region of the United Counties, Prevost notes that the majority of large residential and business construction continues to be closer to the Ottawa region:
“Embrun and Russell in particular are experiencing tremendous growth in residential construction,” Prevost points out. “Industrial and commercial development are also booming in Russell.”
The boom in the Russell area was anticipated says Dominique Tremblay, Director of Planning and Building and Economic Development for Russell Township. The township, which includes Embrun and the western part of Limoges, invested heavily in both infrastructure and the industrial park over the past decade as part of a plan to lure both residents and jobs for them to the area. The goal is to not only attract residents who commute to work in Ottawa, but to attract businesses which will employ new and existing residents who both live and work in the community.
“(Russell Township) council is very keen on increasing the tax base and creating new jobs,” says Tremblay, commenting that the township both owns and continues to invest in property located in the industrial park and then offering the properties at cost to industries interested in locating to the area. “There is obviously a lot of overturn because we are selling the properties (inexpensively) and the Ottawa market is saturated.”
The region received an added boost of publicity in 2018 when Russell Township was named the 3rd best place to live in Canada by Moneysense magazine. With high rankings for lifestyle, new businesses coming to the area and residential property values much lower than the Ottawa market, Russell’s plan to prepare for the future is now bearing fruit with an increase of more than 200 residential building permits in 2019 over the previous year. The township’s vision for the future, lifestyle and current business and residential climate is something she is very proud to be part of.
Tremblay says: “We did our homework and are now seeing the benefits. We are able to see the results of that vision.”
While there are commuters living in the easterly parts of the United Counties who travel to either Montreal or Ottawa, the eastern region has not yet seen the type of massive effect experienced by municipalities closer to the nation’s capital. That’s why in Hawkesbury – where a larger portion of those who live in the town also work in the area – officials are excited about the large number of new commercial construction activity.
“You will have some couples where both the husband and wife work in the city, but for the most part people who live (in Hawkesbury) are people who work in the area as well,” notes Manon Belle-Isle, Senior Planner for the Town of Hawkesbury.
To that end these are exciting times for the community, with multiple commercial and business construction projects currently underway in Hawkesbury. These include the ongoing expansion of the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital, a new OPP station, schools, and industrial projects such as a new manufacturing construction and the addition of a recycling facility to the current IKO plant. Another project upcoming will be the construction of a new facility for Residence Prescott-Russell which is to be located next to the town’s fire department. And that’s not all:
“We are really busy at the town, with a lot of building permit requests,” Belle-Isle reveals. “There are some projects I cannot mention yet, but we have a lot of inquiries. There is a lot of interest in development in Hawkesbury.
With commercial development booming, construction of residential properties has also been steady. Building continues on the second phase of an 18-lot subdivision in the town’s west end with construction now taking place on Lafrance Crescent. Phase 2 of Roxanne Crescent was completed in 2018.
One of the advantages Hawkesbury has is that its sewage and water systems have been updated to modern facilities. This puts the town in an excellent position as its infrastructure is able to handle increased development.
“Our sewage plant is state of the art,” Belle-Isle states. “We are in a very good position (for development).”
In Vankleek Hill, where there are four projects in the early planning stages, the community is hoping to benefit in the long term from commuter traffic as land prices around Montreal and Ottawa continue to increase over time. The largest of these projects is to be located just east of Stanley Street, where 213 detached and 118 semi-detached homes would be built. The project is still in the early stages and both the developer and the Township of Champlain are banking on increased future demand by commuters for property in the area due to reasonable pricing and the opportunity of a simpler lifestyle for homeowners.
“The cost of the average home in Montreal or Ottawa has gone up significantly,” observes Jennifer Laforest, Senior Planner for the Township of Champlain. “But the dream of the affordable single-family home is still there.”
Laforest says that from a human perspective potential homeowners want to live in a distinct community that has character:
“People have an affinity for small-town charm with big city access.”
