Undoubtedly, the ground-breaking ceremony is one of the most exciting milestones of any affordable housing development – it signifies that you’ve successfully balanced the three-legged stool of development during the feasibility phase of your project and are well on your way to creating much-needed housing for your community members.
The construction stage is when you get to see your organization’s vision come to life, and is the culmination of months (or years) of hard work to secure the right mix of land, capacity, and capital.
This month, with our focus on construction, we’re excited to highlight one of our client’s affordable housing projects that’s well underway: Ottawa Salus’ supportive housing development at 56 Capilano Drive! Let’s take a look at the project overview, and its journey from ideation to construction.
Case Study: Ottawa Salus’ 56 Capilano Drive Supportive Housing Project
For more than 45 years, Ottawa Salus has provided integral housing, support, and mental health services to adults with serious mental illness and concurrent challenges including addictions, homelessness, and cycles of hospitalization.
During the pandemic, Cahdco assisted Salus in creating a development strategy to advance its goal of creating more affordable supportive housing in Ottawa. As part of this development strategy, Cahdco connected Salus with the then-owners of 56 Capilano Drive, McDonald Brothers Construction (MBC), a local construction management firm that wanted to see non-profit housing developed on the site. In late 2022 and early 2023, Salus entered into an agreement with MBC to purchase the site, and Cahdco assisted Salus to secure pre-development and capital funding through the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI), the City of Ottawa, Enbridge, and the Federation of Municipalities (FCM). By Fall 2023, the land (56 Capilano Drive), the capacity (project team members including Cahdco, CSV Architects, and MBC), and the capital (RHI, Action Ottawa, Enbridge, Salus equity, and FCM grants) had all fallen into place.
In November 2023, Salus officially broke ground at 56 Capilano Drive. Upon completion, it will be one of Canada’s first supportive housing buildings for older adults with mental health and substance use challenges. This new-build 4-storey apartment building will offer 54 studio apartments, including 8 barrier-free units. All rents will all be at affordable levels. Tenants of 56 Capilano will also benefit from a variety of on-site services, including individualized case management and occupational therapy, allowing them to age in the right place.
As development project manager, Cahdco coordinates with various consultants throughout the construction process, including the construction manager (MBC), architect (CSV Architects), project monitor (AMS Quantity Surveyors), planner (Fotenn), and environmental engineer (EXP). During this stage, Cahdco’s other responsibilities include the coordination of funding draws, review of invoices, monitoring of the budget, attending site meetings, and project reporting for the client.
Since last fall, construction has progressed well; formwork is ongoing and framing is scheduled to begin this summer. Of course, every construction project is unique and comes with its own set of challenges, whether it be unexpected contamination, unseasonable weather, or supply chain issues. On this project, there was an unforeseen influx of groundwater on site; thankfully, the project team quickly came together to identify an efficient and cost-effective solution to minimize the impact on both schedule and budget. Moments like these are reminders that clear communication and collaboration between project members is crucial to keep projects moving forwards during the construction process.
Construction at 56 Capilano is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2025. We can’t wait to see tenants move in!
Support this important project via Salus’ Opening Doors to Dignity campaign.
To learn more about the construction stage of affordable housing development, check out Cahdco’s Toolbox+ Structures program.