EllisDon is offering its expertise to organizations that intent to deliver affordable or supportive housing.

The company announced on February 10 that it has launched EllisDon Community Builders (EDCB)—a group that will provide advice and development-management services to clients wishing to deliver community housing projects.

"We have undertaken a unique approach to addressing Canada’s affordable housing crisis with a replicable and scalable solution," says Nicholas Gefucia, EDCB vice-president. "Our offering is not simply a development and construction solution. It is a holistic and comprehensive approach that ensures the delivery of assets that communities can be proud of."

EDCB will lead the development of housing concepts that will incorporate input from design, construction and operating teams in the earliest stages of projects, while working alongside its clients and partners to ensure the successful delivery of projects on-time and on-budget. EllisDon says its involvement at the early stages of a project can help ensure intended outcomes are achieved and that each asset showcases its community at its absolute best.

“Our aim is to partner with those who share our main focus, which is affordable and sustainable housing,” says Gefucia. “Our model supports this, and EllisDon’s national reach, including in the far North, and will foster a scalability that we believe will effectively address affordable housing challenges across Canada.”

EDCB says it has designed a flexible and holistic template design for affordable and supportive housing developments. The concept has been created with the flexibility to seamlessly fit into a variety of community contexts, while prioritizing cost, schedule efficiency and best value for money, along with durability. The most up-to-date standards surrounding energy performance, greenhouse gas emissions, accessibility, and whole-life performance are key factors adhered to within the design template. This concept can be constructed conventionally or using modular technology, and is versatile enough to be fitted to any site and constructed to any height.

The news comes as the Government of Canada continues to roll out spending under its National Housing Strategy (NHS), a 10-year, $70-billion plan that aims to create more housing units across the country.

Within the NHS, the Rental Construction Financing initiative funds projects that bolster the supply of rental housing in expensive housing markets. The program aims to now support the construction of 71,000 affordable rental units with $25.75 billion in available low-cost loans.