(Bromont) No sign of slowing down in the short term in Bromont, which has planned to add 2,000 more doors to its real estate portfolio by 2028, notably with the ambitious Quartier Samara, the construction of the first phase of which is due to begin shortly.
Gérald Désourdy purchased his 40 hectare land in 1970. On the north side of the Yamaska River. A little east of the village of West-Shefford, which had merged four years earlier with the brand new town of Bromont, founded in 1964 by his father Roland and his uncle Germain. It took him more than 40 years before deciding to launch a real estate project there.
“When I was little, there was nothing here, we came to ski and horse ride,” says Charlotte Désourdy, daughter of Gérald and president of the Quartier Samara project. But it has become more and more attractive to develop something there. »
One of his priorities? May Bromont develop harmoniously. “We’ve been working for 10 years to make it a living area, we absolutely don’t want to be the bad developer. »
Although imposing in its scale with 583 doors, the Samara Quarter devotes 40% of the surface area to conservation. The banks of the Yamaska River will be preserved, several green spaces will be developed, a network of multifunctional trails has already been partly set up – we hope to connect it to the approximately 150 kilometers of existing trails in Bromont. All wetlands will also be highlighted.
We also built a sedimentation basin to slow down the flow of runoff water before it ends up in the river. “We chose to keep a water buffer there at all times in order to make it an attraction that will be part of the recreational development of the area,” explains Charlotte Désourdy, taking us on a tour of the property with her brother Antoine. It is a civil engineering work, but we decided to use the topography of the land so that it blends well with nature. »
Located a few meters from the river which cascades down, the basin is in fact surrounded by an 800-meter loop built on the embankments. It is notably connected to the path along the river – it will remain in place like all the others traced by the family over the years by virtue of an acquired right.
Construction of the first buildings – two multi-unit buildings located at the entrance to the neighborhood, at the corner of Shefford Street – should begin in March. As for single-family homes, the first will be built in the spring in the most sought-after areas, backing onto the large park. Their sale price is estimated at around $1 million, while the first semi-detached units will be sold for just over $700,000.
More modest, the houses in the Faubourg 1792 sector are one of the projects of the real estate division of Bromont, Montagne d’Experiences, directed by Charles Désourdy, Gérald’s brother. The first two phases are completed while the third is already underway. Buyer interest appears to be continuing, despite rising interest rates which have caused a marked slowdown in the market across the country.
“In terms of average sales, Bromont is a bit like a Gallic village,” estimates Charles-André Cantin, broker and director of development at Bromont Immobilier. Sales times are longer than a year or two ago, but it was crazy during COVID. We are therefore back to pre-pandemic levels. We sold around sixty lots during our first two phases, we only have two houses left for sale. »
The number of transactions continued to grow in Bromont, the same goes for prices. According to Centris statistics provided by Mr. Cantin, there were around a hundred more new registrations in 2023 compared to the 382 recorded the previous year, with average sales times of 94 days, a little more than double that of ‘in 2022. But home prices continued to rise, including single-family homes, whose median price rose to $672,500, up some $30,000.
That said, the single-family market was literally boosted by high-end residences, as evidenced by the volume of sales, which almost doubled compared to last year, reaching just over 107 million. dollars.
However, we also want to attract young families, in order to maintain the city’s diverse demographic profile. This is why the Samara District already reserves part of its land for a school, a section which will be kept fallow while waiting to know the final wishes of the City and the school service center. We also plan to offer local services, without harming the village core, located less than a kilometer from the new district.
“At the end of the project, in 10 or 15 years, there will be people here. This makes it possible to consider opening a small café or convenience store. No big businesses, but we don’t want people to always have to travel by car, says Charlotte Désourdy. We want to improve the offer of services to residents, because we love our city, we want it to be beautiful and to make it good to live there. It was the wish of my grandfather, who always said that in Bromont, we could live, have fun and work in the same place. »
By 2028, Bromont will have more than 5,000 additional residents, an increase of more than 40% compared to the approximately 12,000 people who currently live there. It is a challenge to integrate all these beautiful people while retaining the DNA of the city, and the municipal authorities are perfectly aware of this.
“What will Bromont be with 5,000 additional population? Before opening even more, we will speak with our population and we will determine where we will go, confides Francis Dorion, general manager of the City. We don’t have a crystal ball, but we would be very surprised to relive a boom like the one we experienced in 2021 with 421 new residences. »
By talking with the dynamic DG, we understand that the municipality of the Eastern Townships is reaching a crossroads. Moreover, on December 11, it just adopted its budget for next year, as well as a brand new five-year development plan 2024-2028.
The priority is to maintain what has been achieved and improve what is already in place, particularly in the village core, where the infrastructure is aging. In short, certain projects that have made the headlines in recent years are no longer on the agenda, notably those that would have seen the subdivision of areas located on either side of Highway 10 – the ambitious project Pure Bromont and the recreational commercial complex including a tennis center on the grounds of the former flea market therefore remain in an embryonic state for the moment.
“The City had already authorized nearly 2,000 doors. We are committed to upgrading the infrastructure to accommodate them,” said Mr. Dorion, confirming that no other project was currently being studied. We will thus devote more than 67 million in five years to upgrade the water pipes connecting the purification plant, which will make it possible to serve the Samara District and the Faubourg 1792, but also the ÔM Bromont and the Quartier projects. Natura, located in the west of the municipality.
“We are currently building a six-plex that we will keep for long-term rental,” explains Charles-André Cantin, of Bromont Immobilier. This is a new line of business that we want to develop, because there is a glaring lack of housing to rent in Bromont. Statistically, we are at least 10% behind other cities in the region. We have a memorandum of understanding with the City for phases 4 and 5 of Faubourg 1792, and we would like the majority to be plexes. We therefore have ongoing discussions with the City based on the revision of the urban plan. We tell ourselves that maybe we can do better. »
The City is indeed sensitive to the fact that its real estate stock is not the most accessible. In this sense, we hope to submit a new urban plan in the first quarter of 2024. “We are trying to find how to work with current entrepreneurs to address the issues of densification and affordable housing,” recognizes Francis Dorion.
Decisions will thus be made based on the two priorities targeted at the City, namely the preservation of natural environments and the capacity of infrastructures. Bromont has notably adopted a tree policy, in addition to having adopted regulations which limit construction in areas with steep slopes. We are also committed to quickly setting a land conservation target, based on the model of the commitment made during COP15 by the Montreal Metropolitan Community to protect 30% of natural environments by 2030. “Few municipalities can achieve this target, because many have agricultural land, puts Francis Cantin into perspective. Others like us can do it, but we have to protect the right environment. One thing is certain, we will not go below 20%. »
As for infrastructure, the general manager maintains that his city has choices to make, despite the fact that it has land wealth of more than $4 billion, a very high level partly attributable to its important scientific park. “Our costs are exploding, but we are going to maintain our assets, we are going to take care of that,” maintains Mr. Dorion. We will maintain our 150-kilometer bicycle network. We have a big playing field and we want to keep it. Our population is very demanding in terms of service delivery, we do not want to disappoint them.
“All of this will require more investment, but there are limits to what we can take from taxpayers’ pockets,” recognizes Mr. Dorion. Are the community and citizens ready to go there? That’s the question. »