By TERRY PUGH
A $25 million four-storey, 87-unit apartment building currently under construction on Main Street in Martensville is expected to help meet the need for rental accommodation in the growing city.
The project, expected to be completed in the fall of 2026, is one of about three dozen multi-family residential projects being built by Winnipeg-based Ironclad Developments in Ontario, BC, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan communities.
According to Ironclad Developments Director of Development Santan Singh, Martensville offers an attractive opportunity for builders.
“We’re sold on Martensville and the surrounding community,” said Singh. “It’s a well-planned, growing community, and it makes an ideal investment location because there’s a strong demand for quality rental housing, and also because of Martensville’s close proximity to Saskatoon.”
The building has a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom residential units, with one studio apartment. Ten per cent of the units will qualify under Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) funding criteria for affordable units, according to Singh. It will be similar to numerous other apartment complexes the company has built in other communities.
“It fits our design,” said Singh, noting there is a large market for quality rental housing in the Saskatoon region.
Ironclad Developments has expanded quickly over the past decade, with 12 projects on Vancouver Island and multiple projects in Ottawa. Singh said there are about 5,000 apartment units in total within all the company’s projects.
Singh had high praise for the City of Martensville’s administration and elected officials,noting the approval and permit process was very efficient.
“The involvement of city staff was very helpful,” said Singh. “For developers, it is important to have clear guidelines on what is needed. All that information was provided to us by Martensville officials, and the communication with the public works department was very positive.
“That’s not something you hear very often, particularly in larger centres. We have three or four projects underway in Ottawa right now where the process is far more detailed and picky, and there are more procedures and committees you have to go through. When that happens, you lose timelines and schedules; and because developers pre-plan projects, all those delays cost time and money.
“In Martensville, thankfully we were provided with a checklist of what’s required right at the very beginning. So, it was proactive, and we were guided by municipal staff at every step.”
The apartment building is being built on a large lot in an established neighbourhood on Main Street. Singh said the project was initially proposed by a local investor,.
“The initial approval was already in place after the development permit was approved by council previously,” said Singh. “But there were still details that had to be ironed out in terms of the design of the project. The local investor came to us and we partnered with them. The concept was already there, and we worked closely with the local investor and the municipal administration to get the project to the implementation stage.”