A new mixed-income apartment complex in uptown Saint John is starting to take shape.
Officials behind The Wellington say construction is expected to wrap up by early January.
Lisa Keenan, president of Saint John Non-Profit Housing, said work is about two years behind schedule due to COVID-19 delays.
“The supply chain of things was bottlenecked, prices are skyrocketing,” Keenan said in a recent interview.
“We have figures that we must be within in order to complete the project because a lot of the project is dependent on funding from the province and the feds.”
The building stands on the site of the former “Jelly Bean” buildings at the corner of Wellington Row and Union Street.
Keenan said the six-storey apartment complex is unique in that it will comply with Passive House Standards, which has rigorous environmental standards for energy efficiency.
“It’s tighter as far as air drafts are concerned, it has unique windows, so actually less will be spent hopefully on electricity,” she said.
The newest architectural rendering of The Wellington. Image: Submitted, Acre Architects.
About half of the 47 units in the building will be market-rate — no more than $1,400 all-inclusive, according to Keenan — while the remaining units will be subsidized for people “who don’t have a large sum of money coming in.”
Keenan said there has been a lot of interest in the building, especially given its central location in the uptown area.
“Before we even broke ground, people were asking about it because of the location, so it bodes well for the project,” she said.
In addition to the apartments, Keenan said there will be two commercial spaces on the ground floor, including one for a restaurant.
No one has been secured for the spaces just yet, she said, but there has been interest from a couple of companies.
A new mixed-income apartment complex in uptown Saint John is starting to take shape.
Construction on The Wellington is expected to be completed by early January. pic.twitter.com/Opgsw7O9bH
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) March 10, 2022
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