OCH to build Canada’s largest residential Passive House structure
Ottawa Community Housing announced last month that it plans to build Canada’s largest residential Passive House structure.
Located at 811 Gladstone Avenue, in the heart of the city’s Little Italy district, the project features 140 affordable homes. Of those, 108 will be located in a six-storey apartment building that will be designed to the Passive House Institute of the United States 2015 Passive Building Standard. The remaining 32 units on the development site will be constructed as two-, three- and four-bedroom townhouses.
Designing to the Passive House standard makes sense for a number of reasons, says Ottawa Community Housing Corporation CEO Stéphane Giguère.
“For one, we are looking to build buildings that will last for 50 or 60 years in our community,” he says. “Building to such a high standard means the houses will be structurally sound, comfortable and performing at a high standard.”
The other element to the equation, he says, is affordability. Since energy efficient buildings consume less energy, OCH will be able lower occupants’ monthly utility bills.
Designed by Hobin Architecture and built by EllisDon, the low-rise building on site will feature a wood-frame structure, filled with thick insulation, and an airtight membrane. Energy recovery ventilators will recover up to 85 percent of the heat from the air exiting the ventilation system in order to heat the incoming air. This means that electricity consumption will dramatically decrease, and that heating bills for each tenant will remain under $100 per year.
It is generally estimated that building to the Passive House standard adds approximately 5 percent to a project’s total construction costs, but cuts energy consumption by 85 percent. The project’s construction value is estimated at $40 million.
In addition, 811 Gladstone will incorporate 5,000 square feet of amenities, which is double the amount required. Green space, a fitness room, and an indoor children’s recreation space are some of the facilities being incorporated into the development. The project’s expected completion date is March 2021.
Long-term plan to build on 120 acres
The 811 Gladstone development represents the first phase of what will be a busy and long-term construction plan, says Giguère. In addition to this project, the corporation reduced its backlog of capital maintenance projects from an estimated $300 million worth to less than $100 million in over three years. The corporation is consistently posting between 400 and 500 projects annually—of varying dollar figures—to local contractors.
Beyond its immediate needs, the corporation owns 120 acres of downtown land that it is looking to develop over the next 10 years. Many of these are located along the city’s light rail corridor, which means that it can further offer value to residents by situating residences in close proximity to the city’s transit network.
The corporation is also developing larger units for residents. For example, although the majority of the units at 811 Gladstone Avenue are conventional bachelor and one-bedroom units, OCH has also included two-, three- and four-bedroom units to accommodate larger families.
“Ottawa’s population is changing, and the cost of buying or renting units to accommodate large families on the open market is high,” says Giguère. “We’re adapting our housing solutions to meet the needs of those families.”