1620 Main St. - Passive House Affordable Housing

Hamilton, Ontario's 1620 Main St. is raising the bar for affordable housing and wood construction. This 6-storey multi-residential building, uses Element5 mass timber for almost the entirety of the structure - including floors, cores, roof panels, unit demising walls, stairwells, elevator shafts and envelope. The mass timber was assembled in 44 working days from basement sill plates to the CLT roof panels.

This project isn’t just about speed though, it's also about sustainability. As CityHousing Hamilton’s first mass timber build, it’s set to be one of the city's most energy-efficient buildings, boasting near-zero greenhouse gas emissions and ultra-low operating costs. It’s also among North America’s first mass-timber passive house multi-residential buildings.

The building offers 42 apartments, with 52% geared to deeply affordable rent and 48% at half-market rates, proving that sustainability and affordability can go hand in hand. Modest yet revolutionary, 1620 Main St. redefines the future of housing—where affordability meets design, and sustainability meets community.