Construction of 24 units to start within a month: Second phase to go ahead for Pipestone Villas

May 13, 2014, 1:51 am
Kevin Weedmark

The board of Pipestone Villas has decided to move forward with a second phase of the development between Henry Street and Wright Road in Moosomin.
The second phase will be nearly identical to the first, with 24 units in total.

The plan for the site includes a total of three buildings with a total of 72 units, with the second and third phases oriented north-south, and the three buildings forming a u-shape around the central courtyard and parking.
Some units in the third phase are already reserved, although units in that phase are not expected to be available until 2017.

John Berns, who chairs the Pipestone Villas board, says the final decision to move forward now with the second phase of Pipestone Villas was made last week.

Of the 24 units in the second phase, 14 have already been presold.
Pipestone Villas consists of rental units in which tenants have an equity investment. Tenants in Phase II will put in $65,000 of equity for each unit, and will have their equity returned when they leave the building. They receive interest on their equity in the form of a rental discount.

Berns says that he feels good about the project, knowing that 14 units have been presold. “There are a lot of people interested—Judy is showing it probably a couple of times a week—so I’m sure we’ll see the rest of those units selling,” he said.

“Last time, once we started building it just took off. Once people saw the building going up, they signed up. Once it was near completion, it was all full.”

So far, about half of the people looking at units in the second phase are from Moosomin, and the rest are from a range of communities in the surrounding area.

Berns says construction costs have increased significantly in the few years since the first phase was completed, but one advantage for Pipestone Villas is that all of the land for all three phases was acquired at the outset, which means there are no additional costs for securing the land for the second phase.

Berns said he is looking forward to seeing construction get under way on the second phase.

“The tenders are out on it, and I’m thinking a month from now we will be under construction,” he said. “Bridge Road will be the project managers.”
Berns says a lot of out-of-town tenants are looking at retiring in Moosomin because of the town’s amenities.

“It’s attractive to a lot of people because of the hospital and the doctors,” he says.

“A lot of people also like the location. People like that right across the road, there is the park and the rink, and if the leisure centre goes ahead that will be one more thing that will really attract people.”

Berns says he expects that if construction gets under way in a month, people will be moving into phase II by the late summer or early fall of 2015.
Pipestone Villas was initiated by Bridge Road Developments, but is owned by local investors.

The development started with a presentation by Bridge Road at a Moosomin Chamber of Commerce meeting. By the end of the meeting, potential investors were speaking with Bridge Road.

The Bridge Road model seems to be working, as 21 similar housing developments are operating or under development across Saskatchewan and Manitoba.