Andrea Markey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 31/05) - Construction on the controversial $11 million Nova Court apartment complex is nearing completion. Contrary to rumours, the developer has no intention of selling the four-storey building.

The 106-suite complex on Range Lake Road is split into 50 long-term apartments on the top two floors and 56 short-term furnished suites on the bottom two.

"It's not a hotel," said Mike Mrdjenovich, president of Edmonton-based Nova Builders.

The third and fourth floor units are all occupied following the Aug. 1 move-in date.

The second and first floor short-term suites are running at about 50 per cent capacity with construction workers and mine employees making up the bulk of those stays, he said.

With a history of building to sell, it was assumed by many in the city, including potential buyers, that Nova Builders would sell the apartment/commercial complex.

Nova Builders built Nova Village and Beck Court, which they then sold to Lanesborough Real Estate and Investment Trust.

"I guess because we sold to them before, they were assuming we will sell again," he said. "It's not for sale."

A crew of 80 people worked to complete the complex, with paving of the parking lot and landscaping yet to be completed.

The commercial space on the lower level of the complex is still under construction and no tenants have been secured, although a few "office types" are looking.

The controversy over Nova Court cost more than half a million dollars in lost revenue, he said.

The move-in date was pushed forward a couple of months due to delays in construction caused by permitting problems, he said.

The city originally approved a development permit for a hotel in January 2004, but Mrdjenovich changed the request to an apartment/commercial complex six weeks later after further consideration and consultations with his bank.

That application was appealed, which led to the construction delay.

The mix of short-term and long-term accommodations is a relatively new trend in Yellowknife, said David Jones, a planner with the city.

Within the last three to five years existing hotels and apartments have begun to cater to the market looking for furnished short-term accommodations, he said.

"To some degree, this probably coincides with the opening of the mines," he said, of the two week on, two week off mine work schedule.

As far as the city is concerned, no differentiation is made between weekly, monthly or yearly accommodations arrangements, he said.