REAL ESTATE ON A ROLL IN LÉVIS, AND RIGHTLY SO

BY RENÉ VÉZINA, JOURNALIST

The city of Lévis has long been viewed as essentially an extension of Québec City and the north shore of the St. Lawrence, a bit like how Montréalers view Longueuil. But like Longueuil, it is now staking out its own identity, as can be seen in its recent growth and ongoing real estate development. Lévis intends to continue that momentum.

Lévis has grown considerably in size largely due to its merger with 9 neighbouring municipalities in 2002, from St. Nicolas to the west to St. Étienne de Lauzon in the east. With 150,000 inhabitants, it is similar in size to Terrebonne, Trois Rivières, Sherbrooke and Saguenay, but is well on its way to outpacing them if the number of new residences built in 2022 is any indication. In recent years the city has established an impressive record for growth.

Focus On Jobs And Quality Of Life

"We expected to have 2500 new residences of various types in 2022 but so far the number built this year has climbed to 3000; the cranes are working non-stop," said Guy Dumoulin, a city councillor in Lévis and chair of the city's Planning and Development advisory committee. "Our growth has been phenomenal, and the unemployment rate is barely 2%. If we had to name a problem, it would be a shortage of manpower." The Chaudière-Appalaches administrative region has the lowest rate of unemployment in Québec, at 3.5 %. Much of the growth is driven by what is commonly known as the "Desjardins Campus" which employs some 6000 workers. Its many buildings continue the legacy of Alphonse and Dorimène Desjardins and the credit union movement that began in Old Lévis in 1900.

"Our economy has diversified greatly over time," said Mr. Dumoulin, "with no less than 80,000 jobs at present. Our industrial parks are full, and 50% of workers now come from outside the city." The town has become a magnet, attracting many who choose to work and live there." And those who come attract others." He added that Lévis does not play the tax holiday card to attract new investors or new residents, promoting instead the fact that it is a dynamic milieu and a great place to live. In 2019 the Léger report on the Happiness Index, as perceived by ordinary citizens, ranked Lévis first among cities of 100,000 inhabitants or more in Québec. "We are renowned for our quality of life." He cited the town's 10 vast urban parks, including the Chutes-de-la-Chaudière park, the second most popular attraction in the Québec City region. He also pointed out the crime rate, which is very low for a city of its size. "I recently met tourists from Texas in a hotel lobby. They told me they chose Lévis after doing research and being told it was a safe place to visit."

Rapidly Changing Profile

Its former image as a dormitory town has long since passed into history. In addition to having one of Québec's two oil refineries (Valero Energy Corp.), reputed to be one of the most efficient in North America in terms of reducing its emissions, Lévis is also home to a burgeoning new high-tech industrial sector.

For example, in 2021 Microsoft purchased the former Charny golf course to expand its cloud-based service offering. In addition, the Québec firm Q Scale intends to invest more than one billion dollars by 2030 to create a huge industrial park of supercomputers.

Building on that momentum, the municipal council announced in early December commitments of $873 million for its next five-year 2023-27 infrastructure plan so as "to accommodate the city's phenomenal economic and demographic growth," according to the official communiqué. No wonder that demand for new housing continues to grow, not to mention the demand for residences for seniors. Of the 3,000 units being added in 2022, 400 are single-family or semi-detached homes and 2,600 are units in high-density buildings, notably rental condos plus a hundred social housing units.

"We see both local developers like Logisco or the CSB Group as well as firms from elsewhere. All are cognizant of the city's potential," said Guy Dumoulin. To facilitate matters for them, for the past eight years the city has had a project office that is a one-stop shop, "so that they don't have to knock on all kinds of doors and get lost in an administrative maze. It's one of our strengths." Like other cities, Lévis must deal with the spaces it has available, but is very aware that it has a lot to offer.

"We still have a substantial amount of land in central areas, which helps limit urban sprawl,"he noted. "We place the emphasis on rejuvenating existing spaces, which avoids creating new streets or roads. At the same time, we have approximately 200 hectares available for residential development in the St. Romuald district near the Québec Bridge that connects us to Québec City." It is there that the Pôle Chaudière business and residential hub is being developed, a commercial addition to the traditional downtown business core near the Galeries Chagnon.

Ah, the bridges... the question of the links to Québec City and the north shore remains a burning issue, as does discussions about a possible third link. While waiting for a concrete decision in that regard, work will soon be underway to facilitate travel between the two banks of the St. Lawrence. For example, the addition of a third lane to Highway 20 between Lévis and the bridges should be completed by 2024, and a lane reserved for buses is already in place on the Québec Bridge. Significant investments, in the order of $100 million, are planned for the construction of such roads within Lévis. That will make it easier to get around in the municipality, which covers almost 500 km2, an area larger than the Island of Montréal. It also demonstrates the city's strong desire to assert its own identity.