---Havre Lucerne project: construction has begun on Lucerne 

Responding to Aylmer’s rapid population growth and the demand for densification, local construction company Brigil is building a 200-unit residential project at 62-64 boulevard de Lucerne.

--Combining luxury and essentials

A stone’s throw from the Champlain Bridge, overlooking the Ottawa River, and near a variety of services and transportation arteries, Brigil Corporate affairs consultant Maxime Tremblay says the project is ideal for people looking for a relaxing living environment with indoor and outdoor leisure spaces. “It’s close to everything,” Tremblay said. 

Titled Havre Lucerne, the project highlights the benefits of luxurious amenities, proximity and intimacy, Tremblay said. Having recently begun the initial stages of construction, Brigil hopes to have tenants move into their new apartments by the summer of 2022, Tremblay said. “We should start working on the building itself in the coming weeks,” Tremblay said.

Providing 193 luxurious living spaces with modern architectural design – mostly one and two bedrooms – the project plans for the construction of two eight-floor buildings with 110 and 83 units, respectively. The buildings should also provide a number of common work areas, and workout rooms. There should also be 172 underground parking spaces for tenants, 50 aboveground spaces, as well as bike racks and electric car charging docks.

A traffic study conducted by the city recommended that the project should include a left turning lane from the west, Tremblay said, noting that Brigil is also evaluating the possibility of implementing a traffic light adjacent to its parking lot entrance. Strategically located close to the bridge and various transportation arteries, Tremblay believes any perceived negative impacts on traffic should be mitigated. “The impact on traffic is always less, when you’re close [to the bridge] than when you’re far,” Tremblay said, noting that the project is also less than 300 metres from a bus stop on chemin d’Aylmer. “The further away you live, the less you use public transportation.”

Expecting a population boom in the coming years, with more than half of new residents to Gatineau coming to Aylmer, Tremblay said the project is directly addressing that issue. “Those people need a place to live,” Tremblay said. “If there isn’t this project, there’s still the same number of people who are going to live somewhere.” Municipal council officially approved the project last August.

--Environmental dispute

Noting that Aylmer district councillor Audrey Bureau voted against the project because of ramifications on the environment, notably the cutting of trees and removal of wetlands, Brigil’s Director of Marketing and communications Catherine Patry responded in a letter stating that the company would plant 103 new trees compared to the 40 required by the municipally. 

Mostly cedar trees, they will be planted in the courtyard behind the two towers, according to Tremblay. Of the 60 to 70 trees to be cut, around 20 were alive, but in mediocre condition, Patry said, noting that the rest were small or dead.

Also, the wetland removed was of low ecological value and wasn’t naturally created, with no links to a stream or body of water, Patry told the Bulletin, adding that Brigil would preserve a medium-level wetland to compensate.

Initially granted the provincial government’s authorization to undertake the project back in 2019, Patry said Brigil followed all regulations and fulfilled every requirement to get the project legally approved and that environmental impacts shouldn’t be a concern. “We believe the debate is misguided in penalizing a developer who invests several hundred thousand dollars in a compliant project,” Patry said in the letter.