Brigil’s Focus is on ‘Complete Communities’
Petrie’s Landing and The Dale are Examples of ‘Car Independence’
With Canadians’ tastes in housing going through a fundamental shift, real estate developer Brigil is ready to meet that change with its approach on « complete communities, » vice-president Jessy Desjardins says.
« We want to enable people to live in a community where they’ve got everything close by. »
Projects like The Dale in Hintonburg and Petrie’s Landing in Orléans are examples of Brigil projects that put everything their residents need nearby. The idea is to promote « car independence » – the idea that home, work, the grocery store, cultural amenities and recreational opportunities should all be within a 15-minute walk.
« The future of residential and housing in all of Canada is going to face a lot of pressure. We’ve got growing population, a growing cost of labour and a growing cost of materials, » Jessy says.
Complete communities are good for Canadians’ pocketbooks, their quality of life and for the environment overall. If homeowners can get by without a car or at least reduce from two vehicles to one, they can save about a $1,000 a month, money they can save, invest in their homes or spend on something to enrich their lives.
« By reducing the dependency on cars, we’re not only helping Canadians’ wallets, we are helping the environment, » Jessy says.
Brigil’s The Dale project is an example of how it can create a complete community in an established neighbourhood.
On the other hand, Petrie’s Landing, now under construction in the east end along the Ottawa River, demonstrates how the company builds a complete community from the ground up, planning for all the services its residents will need to be located nearby.
Once all three phases are built, Petrie’s Landing will include six towers near Trim Road, eight four-storey rental buildings, and a complete urban village nestled between the first two phases.
« The beautiful thing about Petrie’s Landing is that people are going to be able to live footsteps away from one of the most beautiful environmental settings in the Ottawa region, » Jessy says. « They can enjoy Petrie Island and the whole natural environment and also be steps away from the LRT and head right downtown to go meet some friends and go have some dinner. »
With parts of Petrie’s Landing’s first phase already complete and other elements to come online in 2022 around the same time as the arrival of the city’s extended light rail transit service – the entire project is a testament to founder Gilles Desjardins’ patience. He bought the land, even though nobody else was looking at it, because « he just had a feeling, » Jessy says.
Brigil’s emphasis on complete communities is a result of its evolution as a company, Jessy says.
Gilles Desjardins founded Brigil in 1985, constructing low-rise buildings and single-family homes in Gatineau. He had a keen interest in business from a young age. When he was 10 years old, he started doing accounting work for his father’s garage.
« He really developed a passion for entrepreneurship, business, client service and being involved with people at a very young age, » Jessy says.
As a young man, he talked to developers about the construction. business. That lit a spark in him to become a homebuilder.
Today, the company has 150 people working for it plus another 1,000 it employs indirectly. Despite its growth, it’s still a family business. Gilles’ wife, Céline Beriault was a co-founder. Today, their two sons are involved – Jessy as a vice-president and Kevin on the concept team. While Brigil started in Gatineau, it has been active in homebuilding in Ottawa since 1998.
It’s poised for more growth on both sides of the Ottawa River, with plans to build between 1,000 and 2,000 homes a year in the national capital region. « We are very confident in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, » Jessy says. « It’s a city that has everything to offer. »
Business Profile : By Corey Larocque
