Chatham-Kent’s extreme shortage of housing inventory could soon receive a boost, and a long-term one at that.
Enter Maple City Homes (MCH), a company incorporated earlier this year.
Robb Nelson and his wife Kim, both of Family Lending, have partnered with Dr. Bruce Warwick, Gilles Michaud and Trevor Mailloux to form MCH.
“We have brought four groups together, including two very skilled contractors (Michaud and Mailloux). And we’re all community-minded people,” he said. “We have the combined ability to manage large-scale builds.”
Nelson, whose Family Lending office is located in Chatham, admitted he only recently refocused on the community in which he lives.
“I’ve been focused outside of Chatham-Kent for years,” he said. “But in the last year and a half, I’ve decided to invest mostly in Chatham-Kent. We see all the opportunity here.”
Nelson also saw a growing need for additional home building in the region, as he said some of the main builders in Chatham-Kent have retired recently.
MCH’s partners look to build 30-40 homes at once, using as much local labour and materials as possible, he said.
As much as the real estate market is “location, location, location,” the philosophy of MCH is “local, local, local.” The company has partnered with local furniture, appliance, plumbing, landscaping, flooring – you name it – shops and suppliers to support Chatham-Kent businesses as much as possible.
“Everything we can buy locally, we do, including the tradespeople,” he said.
The current construction site is on Summerset Place off Keil Trail North in Chatham. MCH is building a mix of duplexes and detached homes.
“Everything we’re building is in the mid to high end,” he said.
Those homes, Nelson said, will be geared towards seniors and empty nesters, with every amenity on one floor.
“We don’t have the inventory and there hasn’t been a lot of large-scale building until recently,” he said of Chatham-Kent. “The inventory we have in C-K is multi-floor and not as suitable to the seniors’ market.”
Nelson credits a great deal of the pressure on the local housing market on big-city folks, including former Chatham-Kent residents, looking for a change of pace.
“There is significant demand for seniors to move back to their hometowns, and that increases the demands in the housing market,” he said.
MCH also has an office at 356 St. Clair St. where people can come in and reserve their homes, as well as customize the interior to suit their desires.
Nelson said he and his MCH partners anticipate $10 million to $12 million in sales annually.
“It’s all local. It’s not someone coming in from London or elsewhere. We are all local,” he said.
MCH also supports local. Each home sold will see $500 donated towards the new animal shelter.
