01Iqaluit, NU · tier 3 market
Low-rise apartment building cost in Iqaluit
A four to six storey wood-frame or light-structure rental building with double-loaded corridors and surface or partial underground parking. Unit count matters more than area: repetition of kitchens and bathrooms sets the rate.
This pairing is not indexed: Tier 3 city does not carry tier 1 topics. The builder still works on your own numbers.
02The curated band
Hard cost, standard spec
—
No curated row yet
All-in, preset build
$0/sf
60,000 sf, 4 storey
Hard share of all-in
0%
Rest is soft cost, charges, contingency, escalation
NU escalation
4.1%/yr
Quarter ending 2025-09-30
Buildlor Construction Cost Index · Last updated 2026-01-15 · Maintained by Buildlor Cost Desk
Scope: Iqaluit, Nunavut — Low-rise apartment building
Inputs: User inputs only
Next scheduled review: 2026-04-15
03Build the stack
Your build
All-in cost — Apartment (low-rise), Iqaluit
$26,784,972
$446/sf · band $21,476,594 – $34,016,786
At this specification the apartment (low-rise) prices at about $446 per square foot all-in, with a 47% spread between the low and high band. Hard cost is 73% of the total and everything above it is soft cost, charges, contingency and escalation.
| Line | Amount | $/sf |
|---|---|---|
| Substructure and foundations | $2,173,611 | $36/sf |
| Structure and frame | $4,347,222 | $72/sf |
| Envelope, roofing and glazing | $3,260,416 | $54/sf |
| Interior partitions and finishes | $2,535,879 | $42/sf |
| Mechanical and plumbing | $2,898,148 | $48/sf |
| Electrical and life safety | $1,992,477 | $33/sf |
| General conditions and fee | $905,671 | $15/sf |
| Site work and servicing | $1,449,074 | $24/sf |
| Hard cost subtotal | $19,562,498 | $326/sf |
| Design and consultants | $1,565,000 | $26/sf |
| Permits, approvals and reviews | $391,250 | $7/sf |
| Project management and testing | $782,500 | $13/sf |
| Financing, insurance and legal | $1,173,750 | $20/sf |
| Contingency (10%) | $2,347,500 | $39/sf |
| Escalation to midpoint (12 mo) | $962,475 | $16/sf |
| All-in cost | $26,784,972 | $446/sf |
How these figures were produced
- Observed — Recorded directly from the cited source series, unadjusted.
- Modelled — Derived arithmetically from observed inputs using the published method; not a market quote.
Carry this deal forward
Your numbers travel with the link
The deal is encoded in the URL, never stored. Open a sister utility and it arrives pre-filled.
- LeaselorLeasing & incomeTurn rent, TMI and vacancy into the NOI you underwrote.Soon
- CapitalorPre-acquisition & financingDebt-service the deal and find the loan the numbers support.
- StratalorLong-term operations & facility managementBenchmark opex and TMI to hold the NOI you underwrote.
Keep this deal under watch
Save the deal and Dealor re-runs it every month against current rates and your own dates — so you hear about a broken DSCR or a lapsing renewal before your lender does.
04What moves the number
Cost drivers for this type in Iqaluit
Unit mix
a building of bachelor and one-bedroom units carries more kitchens and bathrooms per square foot than a two-bedroom building.
Parking type
switching from surface to a single level of underground parking is one of the largest single cost swings in the stack.
Encapsulated mass timber or six-storey wood frame prices below concrete but has firestopping and inspection cost.
Encapsulated mass timber or six-storey wood frame prices below concrete but has firestopping and inspection cost.
Development charges per unit, not per square foot, dominate soft cost in most Ontario municipalities.
Development charges per unit, not per square foot, dominate soft cost in most Ontario municipalities.
Iqaluit has no road connection, so a single missed sealift can push a project a full year and every foundation is designed for permafrost. That is why the same drawings priced in Iqaluit and in Toronto do not land at the same number even when the trades are the same.
On the preset build above, hard cost is $0 and everything after it — soft cost, charges, contingency and escalation — adds $0. Budgeting off a hard rate alone is the single most common way an early construction budget goes wrong.
Buildlor facts
- Hard cost for a apartment (low-rise) in Iqaluit sits at — per square foot at standard specification.
- Soft cost at 20% of hard adds $0 to the preset build.
- NU construction escalation is running at 4.1% a year, or $0 over twelve months on this build.
05Related
Other types in Iqaluit
- Warehouse and distribution shellWarehouse · tier 1 topic
- Low-rise office buildingOffice (low-rise) · tier 1 topic
- Retail strip and plaza shellRetail strip · tier 1 topic
- High-rise apartment towerApartment (high-rise) · tier 2 topic
- Office tenant improvementOffice fit-out · tier 1 topic
- Retail tenant improvementRetail fit-out · tier 2 topic
- Medical and dental clinic fit-outMedical fit-out · tier 3 topic
06Questions
What does it cost to build a apartment (low-rise) in Iqaluit?
On the curated Iqaluit band, hard cost runs $0 to $0 per square foot for a apartment (low-rise) at standard specification. Adding site work, soft cost, charges, contingency and twelve months of escalation puts the all-in figure near $0 per square foot on a 60,000 sf preset. Your own area and specification change that number, which is what the builder above is for.
Why does Iqaluit price where it does?
Iqaluit has no road connection, so a single missed sealift can push a project a full year and every foundation is designed for permafrost. The published Toronto base range is scaled by a documented factor of 1.85 for this market, and the NU escalation series is running at 4.1 percent a year.
Is the development charge in this number?
No. We do not yet hold a charge row for Iqaluit. Enter the figure from the municipality's schedule in the builder.
What is excluded from every figure here?
Land, financing interest during construction beyond the soft-cost allowance, taxes recoverable as input credits, tenant furniture and equipment, and any remediation or off-site works. Those are separate line items in a real proforma.
07Sources
Sources
- [1] Altus Group Canadian Cost Guide — Published construction cost ranges by building type.
- [2] Statistics Canada Building Construction Price Index, table 18-10-0135-01 — Non-residential building construction, Calgary CMA.
Not advice — Buildlor is a data publisher. We do not bid, price, estimate, or build work, and nothing here is a quote, a tender price, or construction advice. Figures are indicative order-of-magnitude benchmarks for early budgeting and must be confirmed by a qualified cost consultant, quantity surveyor, or general contractor before you rely on them. About Buildlor