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Construction is underway on what might be the largest development in Quebec City, a 28-storey purpose-built rental tower and medical centre in Sainte‑Foy, one of the city’s major urban centres.

The 3000 Laurier Boulevard Mixed Use Building ConstructionStatusPre-Construction/NegotiatedValue$400MLocation3000 Boul Laurier, Quebec QC G1V 4T2SectorPrivateTypeMulti-Residential – New ConstructionData as of July 8, 2026, $250 million of which is for construction, will include 896 rental units – 40 per cent affordable – underground parking and a three-level 120,000-square-foot podium with space to lease for a public medical clinic for residents in training. There will also be a café, gym and swimming pool.

“It is our biggest project and I think the biggest project in Quebec City now,” says Yan Boudreau, the president and founder of Groupe Medway Inc., the project’s developer.

The tower is part of the city’s redevelopment movement, which includes the construction of TramCite, a 19‑kilometre, 29‑station urban tramway that will run right by the tower on Laurier Boulevard.

Construction of that tramway at the same time as the “unusually large” tower excavation has presented engineering challenges for L2C Experts-Conseils Inc., the tower’s structural engineer.

Jean-Philippe Carrier, principal partner with L2C, says based on geotechnical findings and excavation methods, the stabilization of the pit’s retaining walls “go beyond what is typically required” to ensure the adjacent tramway project is not disturbed.

The rental tower’s five-level deep underground parking structure is composed of reinforced concrete foundations, walls, columns and slabs designed to support “the substantial vertical loads generated by the tower,” Carrier says.

Particular attention is paid to how loads from the superstructure are transferred through the parking levels and into the foundation system.

Because of the unusually deep excavation and the magnitude of the building loads, the structural and foundation systems were engineered as an integrated assembly to ensure strength, stability and long‑term performance, he says.

Also on L2C’s agenda was designing the tower’s lateral force-resisting system to withstand wind and seismic loads while meeting the phased construction sequencing timeline.

The process involved wind tunnel testing to quantify wind pressures, occupant comfort and meet structural requirements.

Carrier says the design solution consists of three reinforced concrete cores formed by coupled shearwalls that are positioned and proportioned for required stiffness and strength throughout the construction process.

Wind studies also helped the engineering team optimize the foundation choice, resulting in “a more efficient overall design” without compromising performance or safety, he adds.

The ground floor slab was engineered to be thicker than usual because it serves as “a large diaphragm that helps transfer wind and seismic forces from the tower’s concrete cores to other parts of the foundation system.”

Engineers analyzed the key points where forces concentrate to see how the structure would behave under different conditions. The results clarified how loads move through the building and allowed the team to fine‑tune the design while preserving safety and performance margins, the engineer points out.

Working closely with the architect, CCM2 Architecture, L2C maintained thin floor slabs without drop panels and continuous columns from the roof to the foundations, allowing loads to “flow directly” through the structure. While it improved the building’s efficiency, it also preserved the architectural vision.

Carrier sees the project as helping to redefine a main gateway into Quebec City.

“We consider ourselves fortunate to be contributing to a project that will leave a lasting mark on the urban landscape and on the future of the city.”

Of the almost 900 units on the tower’s top 25 floors, 40 per cent will be priced under $1,300 a month in keeping with affordability standards, says Boudreau.

Quebec City has been leading rental housing builds in Canada over the past two years, he says, pointing out Medway started adding residential to its medical-focussed developments about five years ago.

Boudreau says phased delivery of the underground parking and commercial podium will be completed in late 2027/early 2028. The first 300 residential units will follow in the summer of 2028, with another 300 completed a year later and the last 300 finished in 2029. Tisseur Inc. is the general contractor.

Boudreau says Groupe Medway is planning on expanding to Montreal next year and longer term moving into Ontario and further west with similar-style developments.