In Rocanville: Council says yes to apartment building
May 14, 2013, 3:04 am
Kara Kinna
Last week, Rocanville town council gave the green light to a 12-unit apartment building to be situated on a block of land south of the daycare in Rocanville.
Council made the decision at their regular meeting last Wednesday after sitting down with Albert Vanleeuwen, the owner of Stoneveld Properties. Vanleeuwen proposed a 12-unit apartment building, and said he would ideally like to give renters the option of purchasing the units after two years, with their two-year portion of the rent going toward the cost of the unit as a down payment. But, he said, people could also choose to rent, and not buy out a unit.
Vanleeuwen, who owns a small, family-run construction company, told council that all of his units-which are modular-are built in Vega, Alberta, then shipped out to their sites and set up. Construction on a 12-unit building takes about two months, and he said it takes about two weeks to set up the building on the site. He has two units in Esterhazy as well as in a number of other small communities in Saskatchewan, and told council that in Esterhazy, once his first unit was set up, he had renters moving in two weeks later.
"We like Saskatchewan because there is a need here, and we like working in small towns," he told council. "I like coming to places like this and talking to people like you because you are all down-to-earth people.
"I see you have two mines here nearby so there seems to be a lot of pressure here."
Vanleeuwen told council he was confident that he could fill the units fairly quickly.
Council discussed Vanleeuwen's proposal afterwards and decided it was a win-win situation. They decided on a five-year tax abatement for the property and the option of taking title to the land back if Vanleeuwen ever decides to move the building. Vanleeuwen needs to agree to council's terms before the project officially moves ahead.
Vanleeuwen cast his eye on Rocanville after he was approached by Councillor Stan Langley when Langley saw one of Vanleeuwen's units going up in Esterhazy.
"I saw their building in Esterhazy when driving through, and there was a for-rent number on there so I called and talked to the lady who was looking after that and she had Albert give me a phone call," Langley said last week. "I just explained to them that I think Rocanville would be a great place for one of those things. And I guess it worked."
"He is someone who is looking at the smaller towns," added Langley. "We've had lots of speculators come in and talk and talk and talk, but when I talked to him on the phone he seemed like a guy who would come in and do something here.
"I think he will be quite happy with Rocanville for his apartment block. Everyone knows we need living space here. A lot of people come to the mine and they have a probation period, and they have to find out if they like working at a potash mine, and then they have to find out if they want to live in Rocanville. If you have something for them to rent, then they can buy a house later."
Langley says he likes the idea of allowing renters to use their rent toward a down payment.
"They will build equity in that thing, and they will have the opportunity to buy it. It's a great deal for anyone who wants to get ahead. Sometimes it's hard to put money away, but if it's going to the rent and some of that will be put toward the purchase afterward, well it's a no-brainer. It will be great for young people starting out.
"They can turn around and sell that later on, and they have equity in that place. They are going to sell it for a profit and they are going to have a down payment to put toward their house."
Langley, who owns Universe Satellite Sales in Rocanville, says he knows other business owners who want to hire additional staff, but don't know where they would live. He says many people in Rocanville are in favor of the idea of an apartment building.
"It's a win-win for Rocanville," he says.
Vanleeuwen says he was impressed with Rocanville after he came to see the town.
"I checked the town out, and (town administrator) Monica (Merkosky) gave me a tour of the town and what's happening there," he says. "We did our homework before we came out about four months ago.
"I think it looks like a nice community. I think the school shows you it is a lively growing community with a lot of younger people and that's a positive thing. It's not a sleepy town, it's not all seniors-that's a big plus in any community. To my impression it is a young, lively town."
He says Rocanville would work nicely for one of his buildings because he has other buildings in Esterhazy and because of the town's proximity to the PotashCorp Rocanville and Mosaic Esterhazy mines.
He also said a town's attitude has a lot to do with him wanting to invest in the community
"I would say one of the bigger factors is the reception of the town. If they are not really keen, then we go somewhere where they are interested in it," he says.
Because tradespeople are hard to find in small towns where the economy is booming, Vanleeuwen says the modular structure works well. All of his buildings are built in Vega, Alberta-a tiny community north of Edmonton-then shipped out in six loads each carrying 1,700 square feet of building.
Vanleeuwen says his business does not do large-scale apartment buildings, and has found the most demand for the 12-unit building in Saskatchewan.
"It's mostly accommodation for employees," he says. "That's the biggest push. The immediate pressure is people working and doing expansions, and they have no place to stay."
Vanleeuwen says he is fairly confident that he can not only rent, but sell the units in Rocanville.
He says his units are affordable, and he usually sells them within the $130,000 price range.
