1620 Main St. - Passive House Affordable Housing

Hamilton, Ontario's 1620 Main St. is raising the bar for affordable housing and wood construction. This 28,500 sq. ft., 6-storey multi-residential building, uses Element5 mass timber for almost the entirety of the structure - including floors, roof panels, unit demising walls, stairwells, elevator shafts and envelope. The lateral force resisting system consists of platform frame CLT shearwalls.

The mass timber structure was assembled in 44 working days from basement sill plates to the cross-laminated timber (CLT) roof panels and the Glulam columns at the building's entrance.

Designed to Passive House Standards
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  designed 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.

The entire project was completed in 13 months from construction start to full occupancy.