Project
A significant portion of Chelsea’s older population, having contributed to the community all their lives, have difficulty remaining in their homes in their latter years. Unfortunately, they are often forced to leave the region, their family, friends and community, in order to find affordable and suitable housing. The CHC’s mission is to provide the first residence at affordable rent for seniors in the municipality of Chelsea.
We would like to thank all those who have supported us in realizing this important project over many years. Our hope of seeing the first affordable seniors residence is now becoming a reality.
Update
May 27, 2024
The construction of La Résidence du Petit Bois is moving along at a good pace! La Résidence is scheduled to open in December 2024/January 2025.
If you are interested in becoming a resident, it’s not too late to sign up. You can find the required form under Registration OR at the reception of Chelsea City Hall.
Céline Brault
Présidente de la Corporation d’habitation de Chelsea
October 19, 2023
After several weeks of work, the blasting of rock on site is almost done. The contractor will continue with site work in preparation for the forming and pouring of the building foundation. The blasted rock will be crushed in place and used as economical fill and base material for the rough landscaping of the site, access road and parking lot.
The contractor has coordinated with the Municipality on the installation of the sanitary and storm connections to chemin de la Rivière in advance of the final asphalt paving of the road reconstruction project.
September 29, 2023
After more than a decade of hard work, construction of La Résidence du Petit Bois has finally begun. La Résidence will offer 12 ground floor apartments (9 x 1-bedroom and 3 x 2-bedroom units) to middle and lower income seniors at rents that are below market value.
Although construction officially began on August 29th, board members of La Corporation d’habitation de Chelsea, CHC, were treated to their first site visit this week. The CHC is a not-for-profit corporation run by community volunteers dedicated to creating affordable housing options for Chelsea seniors.
An official ground breaking ceremony, as well as the CHC annual general meeting (AGM) will be held later this fall. Construction of La Résidence du Petit Bois is expected to be complete within 16 months.
July 18th, 2023
It is with great pleasure that the Chelsea Housing Corporation (CHC) announce that it has recently received the final level of approval (Engagement définitif) from la Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ). This important step allows us to move forward with the construction of La Résidence du Petit Bois, now the official name of the future seniors’ residence in the Farm Point area of Chelsea.
The general contractor will be Chelsea-based Gestion DMJ. Construction is expected to begin in August. We will keep you posted on details via our website at www.chchelsea.ca and on our Facebook page.
May 31, 2023
Another step was taken today, with the submission of our application for financial assistance (DAF) to the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ). It will take up to 90 days to obtain a final commitment from them, which will allow us to move ahead with construction.
The Board is confident that groundbreaking will take place within the next few months.
May 16th, 2023
Construction tenders were officially opened at the offices of Lapalme Rheault Architects at 11 am on May 16th, 2023. A total of 7 tender offers were received and opened.
The offers for tender are currently under review and the selected general contractor will be announced as soon as this review is completed.
The CHC Board wishes to thank all general contractors who submitted tenders for our project.
April 28th 2023
Some changes needed to be done on calls for tenders. Closing date had to be reported to Wednesday May 10th 2023.
March 20th 2023
Link to Calls for Tenders (In French)
March 8th 2023
The clearing period is now underway.
On March 15th, the call for tenders for the general contractor will begin until April 21st.
Website for calls for tenders: www.seao.ca (For the use of certified contractors)
January 27th, 2023
The Chelsea Housing Corporation’s project to develop a seniors’ residence has been approved by the Société d’habitation du Québec to go out to tender for construction.
Chelsea, January 27th, 2023 – The Chelsea Housing Corporation (CHC) is proud to announce that they have received the approval of the Société d’habitation du Québec to go out to tender for the construction of its affordable seniors’ rental housing project in the Farm Point sector in Chelsea. This step is required before the final commitment can be obtained from the SHQ, which is scheduled once the construction tenders have been received, reviewed and accepted.
“After more than 10 years of work spent on this important project, we have finally received the good news we’ve been waiting for” said Céline Brault, President of the CHC. “This affordable rental housing project, long anticipated by Chelsea residents, will provide a unique opportunity for many seniors with limited incomes to age in place in the community they helped to build over many years. After the numerous challenges and setbacks we have encountered, this news has been received with much joy and satisfaction. We are optimistic that the construction for the residence will begin this summer”, said Ms. Brault.
In accordance with the requirements and criteria of the Accès-Logis program of the SHQ, a rental subsidy will be available for those seniors with limited incomes.
The CHC wishes to thank its principal partners, the governments of Québec and Canada, Loge-Action Outaouais through the Accès-Logis program, as well as the Municipality of Chelsea.
HISTORIC
September 22, 2022
In order to present the project for final approval by the SHQ, our architect is currently validating the cost estimate. As soon as we have this approval from the SHQ, we will be able to go to calls for tenders for the construction. We hope to present further details at our next AGM which is scheduled for November 24 at 7:00 p.m. at the Farm Point Community Centre.
September 2022
All plans are now validated. In addition, we have received confirmation that our plans comply with the new energy standards established by the Government of Quebec as well as the new regulations of the Régie du bâtiment. Another important step has been taken!
Given the progress of the project, the municipality of Chelsea transferred us an amount of $780,000 from the Accès-Logis program (Government of Quebec), in order to offset the increase in construction costs.
Summer 2022
All MELCC clearance certificates have been received. This is an important step in the realization of the project. The architect finalizes the plans. While the engineers of Quebec are currently on strike, we are facing certain delays because certain points must be validated by them.
April 2022
Despite the absence of news for 1 year, the project continues to move in the right direction. All our requests for water-related certificates have been submitted to the MELCC (Min. Environment). These requests are currently under study and are an important part of obtaining the agreement of the SHQ before being able to go to calls for tenders.
spring-summer-fall 2021
Joint studies and analysis by professionals (water (catchment, treatment, transport, discharge), environment, biologist, ecologists) to complete requests for certificates of authorization from the MELCC.
March 2021
We are thrilled to announce that the Chelsea Housing Corporation (CHC) has begun the crucial step of drilling the well for its 12-unit affordable housing project for seniors in the Farm Point district. A temporary road is currently being built to give access to the well driller in the coming weeks.
As in any large-scale project, the steps are numerous and the collaboration of various experts is both necessary and complex. Our hope is that the work required for the CHC to go to tender, as well as the necessary approvals, will be completed in the following months, allowing us to begin construction of the home in the fall.
Following the recent funding announcement under the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI), CHC board members are working in close collaboration with all three levels of government and Loge Action Outaouais, our project manager, to make this long-awaited seniors’ housing project become a reality in the forseable future.
Once again, we would like to thank our donors and numerous volunteers who have worked with us over the years. The prospect of an affordable residence for seniors in Chelsea is now becoming a reality!
January 2021
143 NEW SOCIAL HOUSING UNITS FOR THE OUTAOUAIS
Monsieur Robert Bussière, député de Gatineau, Will Amos, Member of Parliament for Pontiac, Madame Caryl Green, Mayor of Chelsea as well as Claude Gervais, President of the Corporation d’habitation de Chelsea, met for a virtual press conference concerning the project. They announced aid funding of over $ 12M for the creation of 143 social housing units in the Outaouais. For the Outaouais, this means 21 new units are planned and more than $ 2M in financial support.
Soon, the Coopérative de Solidarité du vieux Clocher project (9 units) in the municipality of Sainte-Thérèse-de-la-Gatineau and the Corporation d’Habitation de Chelsea project (12 units) in the municipality of Chelsea will see daylight thanks to this help.
This is possible following the conclusion of an agreement concerning the Initiative for the Rapid Creation of Housing (ICRL) between the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Our government is taking concrete measures to support housing needs to improve the quality of life of people back home. We are moving forward!
Céline Brault’s interview with TVA concerning the great news CHC and Chelsea received this week. Please watch. Watch the second news item at 20:28 min to find out more about the important funding announcement that will benefit the CHC and other affordable housing initiatives in the region.
Chelsea is often regarded as a well-to-do community. However, the reality is that a significant segment of Chelsea’s seniors population, having contributed to the community all of their lives, are hard pressed to stay in their homes in their later years. Rather than age in place, many Chelsea seniors are forced by economic circumstances to move out of the region and away from family, friends and community.
Committees
Monitoring Committee (Role and members)
At the request of the office of the provincial deputy of Mr. Robert Bussières, a monitoring committee was set up at the beginning of 2021 in order to follow the progress of the project at the level of the political authorities. A meeting takes place approximately every 6 weeks or as needed, if necessary.
Members :
- Office of M.Bussières (Provincial)
- Office of Mme Sophie Chatel (Federal)
- Office of M. Pierre Guénard (Municipal)
- Project manager (GRT) Loge-Action Outaouais
- President CHC
- Members of the construction committee (CHC)
Construction Committee (Role and members)
The purpose of the construction committee is to monitor the project with the project manager and report on the situation to the president and the board. It also takes part in the discussions and decisions to be made on everything related to the residence’s environments.
Members :
- Daniel Fournier
- Paul Landry