Ribbon cut on First Nations-owned housing development

By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Source: TBnewswatch.com

The First Nations development organization behind a new apartment building says it expects tenants to start moving in early next year.

The Sioux Lookout Friendship Accord is developing the 48-unit structure on Duke Street in Dryden. The organization was created by four First Nations — Lac Seul, Slate Falls, Cat Lake and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug — to pursue development opportunities outside the communities and in more urban centres.

“This project is our first real estate development (and) it is wholly owned by the First Nations,” said Jacob Dockstator, the friendship accord’s executive director.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in Dryden on Dec. 8. Occupancy is expected to start in February, he said.

A “display suite” in the building is complete, Dockstator added, with late-stage construction still taking place in the individual units, like painting and installing fixtures and appliances. The building has a mixture of one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Thirty units have been rented out, he said, adding that they expect the remaining ones to fill up.

The one-bedroom units are 650 square feet, and the two-bedroom ones sit at 900 square feet, Dockstator said. According to the development’s website, the price range starts from $1,575 per month to $2,245 per month.

The development organization is also eyeing another project in Sioux Lookout, but Dockstator said the priority has been to “get this project at the finish line first.”

“We’re just trying to find a project that makes sense for that piece of land that we have.”

In Dryden, Dockstator said the city has been very supportive and “we’re excited to continue working with them on future developments as well if the opportunity arises.”

Overall, he said, the process has “been an incredible experience bringing it to this point.”

“It’s a very detailed, in-depth process,” Dockstator said of the development. “A lot of moving parts with four First Nations, the (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation), builders, developers — everything that comes along with it.”

“To see it now at this point … it’s incredible.”