Rupert rental properties face major renovations and rising rents

As Podunk reported on earlier in the week, recent eviction notices given to Digby Towers and Sherbrooke Gardens residents are just the latest changes that have come to the Prince Rupert apartment rental market.

One company Macro Properties has become a major player in the Prince Rupert rental market over the last couple of years, as the property developer has been busy purchasing rental complexes across the city and renovating them. Macro Properties currently has 316 rental units under its corporate name as well as the Neptune Motor Inn, making them Prince Rupert's largest landlord.

At the same time as folks on Sherbrooke were going to their mailboxes to find they had to move out, similar notices were being delivered at the Boulevard Estates townhouse complex which also will undergo extensive renovations.

The sudden spate of renovations to affordable units has many in the community concerned about a rental crunch for many of those Prince Rupert residents who may have a problem finding similar accommodations at the same price structure. The Macro Properties website had rents listed in the 350-550 range in the Sherbrooke Avenue buildings, compared to rents ranging from 525-800 in their renovated properties elsewhere in the city, leaving the soon to be former tenants wondering if there is any financial room for them on the other Macro Properties listings.

The Daily News featured the changing landscape of Rupert's rental market as the front page story in Friday's paper.

Highrise landmark among rentals getting make-over
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Friday, July 27, 2007
Pages one and two

The recent decision to renovate Digby Tower, Sherbrooke and the co-op townhouses of Boulevard Estates has many tenants wondering where they will be living two months from now.
The buildings were purchased by Marco Properties, who have been buying units all over Prince Rupert for the past two years. The company now owns 316 residential rental units and the Neptune Motor Inn.

Each of their new acquisitions has undergone extensive work and renovations after its purchase, in order to bring the buildings back to their original condition, or better.

"Bayview is now what it should have been years ago when it was approached by council. It was just awful a few years ago," said Leslie Ebdon, now the resident manager at the Helmsman Apartments.

"The neighbours used to phone me when I was managing it saying Would you please do something with those buildings'. And now you could sit on a lawn chair out front and rent them, because they look so nice and they're so nice inside. And that's the complete intention for Digby."

While renovations are usually welcome, tenants at Digby Towers, Sherbrooke and Boulevard Estates were all recently given eviction notices by mail, stating they have 60 days to vacate the premises as of July 24, leaving some disappointed at the prospect of having to look for new accommodation.

When Macro Properties came into possession of the buildings, tenants had been told that units would be renovated one at a time, and that as each was finished, they would have the option of moving into one of the completed apartments. So the news that they were being evicted came as quite a shock to some.

"I lucked out because I have a friend who found a place for me in the same area for the same rent, but I'm worried about everyone else," said Wendy Henley, currently a tenant of Digby Towers. "But other people are just devastated, they don't know what they're going to do, rents are so high out there."

"I don't like doing this to tenants, but I'm hoping that when we're done, they'll come back and stay in our places. It's not that we're trying to be mean or get rid of the tenants, it's just in order to complete the buildings and make them available to everyone, I have no choice," said Sharon Gregory, general manager of Macro Properties.

"I do have other accommodations available in Prince Rupert, at the Bayview and Helmsman. They're slightly higher than what these tenants are paying, because they've renovated units."
Presently, the tenancy of the buildings is fairly low, with only 10 or 12 occupied units out of 60 in Digby Towers, and only six tenants in Sherbrooke.

The work being done on the three buildings is quite extensive, including new electrical wiring, new plumbing and heating systems, new appliances and flooring, new roofs and windows, and other exterior renovations. It's hoped that the brand new look and feel of the buildings will have the same positive implications as at other Macro Properties that have had a complete makeover.

"People were saying how bad The Neptune was, and now it's really turned it around into a place where people are going up and having lunch again, because they've really fixed that up," said Ebdon. "And Cedar Ridge too, we can't fill them up fast enough with furnished units for fellows, and families. Even the Helmsman, it looks like an old 70s building on the outside, but we're going to take all the cedar siding off of it and put on brand new vinyl on the front, with flower pots."
With 160 units between all three projects, it is estimated that the entire overhaul will take nearly a year, although ideally it will be done much sooner.

"With the labour force, there aren't a lot of skilled trades," said Gregory. "I would love to pump out units within the next two months, and that might be a little ambitious just because of the limitations of being able to get skilled trades to do it. It's certainly going to be easier for Sherbrooke and Boulevard Estates, because townhouses you can finish and rent. But when you're dealing with construction in apartments, you don't want people to be at risk, or having to deal with construction noise."

While Macro does realize it's putting tenants in an inconvenient position, they don't want residents in the city to forget what they've been able to accomplish in the past.

"I think we've contributed a lot to Prince Rupert thus far, and I think the residents in the neighbourhood of the Bayview and Helmsman are delighted that we've taken those properties and restored them, and probably added value to their properties by doing so," said Gregory. "If you look at our Bayview apartments, some of those buildings were actually condemned and not even livable when we closed [the deal]. And you look at them and see how they've been totally refurbished, and we're going to do even better with Digby, Sherbrooke and Boulevard Estates."