Hay River apartment complex, set back by flooding, to open next year

A new apartment complex being built in downtown Hay River is now expected to open this time next year, with a waitlist growing for the 44 units available.

Situated along the Hay River, the complex at 66 Capital Drive will consist of one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites. It will include an underground parking lot, the first of its kind in the town.

The project, led by Rowes.ca Realty in partnership with Rowes Construction, was originally projected to open in fall 2022. However, flood damage and other delays set the project back.

“Obviously, we stopped construction over the wintertime. We were supposed to be getting back at the end of April and the start of May, and the flood delayed that a little bit,” said Terry Rowe, property manager for the forthcoming complex.

“We spent a few weeks just basically cleaning the mess that that created. It pushed the first pour back a bit.”

Rowe said the flooding filled the parkade worksite with water, which then had to be drained over the course of about a week. 

“Structurally, nothing significant was damaged. It was just a big cleanup to get all the water out, and then all the mud that was left behind.”

Rowe said that since then, however, workers have begun pouring concrete and hope to finish the parkade in the next couple of weeks.

“Framing is supposed to be getting started the second week of July, so the community will be able to see some walls going up. Hopefully by the end of August, we’ll actually see all the walls up, and potentially the roof up as well. So that’ll be pretty exciting to see.”

Neither the name of the building nor the rental cost of units have yet been determined. Features of the development include electric car charging stations and accessible units for seniors. 

“We’ve been dealing with the seniors’ society. We have a pretty long waiting list so far and a lot of them are seniors,” said Rowe.

More than 30 names are already on the waiting list. Rowe said the complex aims to serve the growing need for accessible housing in the community. 

“We were probably short on housing in Hay River pre-highrise and pre-flood,” he said, referring to the 2019 fire that rendered the town’s highrise apartment complex uninhabitable.

“Now, with both those things, there’s definitely a major demand for rental units and combinations in Hay River.”