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IQALUIT
Nunastar Properties goes to Iqaluit city council Tuesday seeking permission to rebuild the 300-block of Creekside Village units lost in a Feb. 26 fire that killed siblings Andrew Papatsie, 27, and Connie Papatsie, 25.

City planner Arif Sayani will present the request for a development permit at the Aug. 14 council meeting.

"The permit request is on the agenda," Sayani said. "Under the zoning bylaw, when a structure is lost to fire, the use is protected, grandfathered in, and they have the right to request a permit to rebuild."

The rebuild will look like the units lost in the fire, and will conform to current fire code standards.

Since the original White Row homes were built in the 1970s, the building code has changed to improve fire safety.

Prior to the February fire, Nunastar Properties had spent $2.5 million on renovations at Creekside Village, investing in sprinklers, alarms, and other upgrades. By starting from scratch, Nunastar will know everything meets code.

"It will be built to code, fully sprinklered, all the latest best practices," chief operating officer Bruce Alton said.

If council approves the application, a poster will be placed on the lot, and the public has two weeks to appeal the decision before a permit is issued.

"Assuming we get the development permit, we'll start construction in the spring," Alton said, adding the homes would be available by 2014.

Nunastar is eager to replace the lost units, which added to Iqaluit's housing shortage, but had to wait for investigators to finish their work.

"We couldn't disturb the site. We had to clear the site, and then we had to come up with the design, so it was too late for this year's sealift," he said, reflecting on the circumstances. "It was obviously very tragic. Emotionally and logistically, it was a tough thing to deal with."

In the meantime, Nunastar is adding to its portfolio at Creekside Villages, building two 23-unit rows this summer. The units were approved before the fire happened.

"The piles are in, and it's actually up to the first floor," Alton said. "They will be completed, we're hoping, next summer."

Including the Astro Hill complex, those units will bring the company's portfolio to 340 units once the 300-block is rebuilt.

Eighty-five people were left temporarily homeless by the fire, which destroyed 22 units.

Firefighters braved extra-cold temperatures that felt like -50 C with 60 km/h wind gusts, and one suffered frostbite severe enough that he had to get medical attention.

The 300-block of houses was one of six similar buildings owned by Nunastar in the valley below the company's Frobisher Inn.

Most of the units had three bedrooms, and 21 of the units were rented by Nunavut Arctic College students.

The fire remains under investigation, police said Aug. 9.

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