Building sustainable housing, one development at a time

Environmentally friendly and affordable housing construction at 715 Mikinàk This feature story is part of the City of Ottawa Service Reviews: an initiative aimed at ensuring our services are meeting your needs. Visit ottawa.ca/YourIdeas today. Sustainable housing developments aim to create affordable living spaces that are designed, constructed and operate with minimal environmental impacts. Considering where a building is located, what materials it is built with, and how it manages energy consumption are some of the key factors that make a housing development “green” and sustainable. At 715 Mikinàk Road in Wateridge Village, the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) partnered to build a sustainable housing development that is affordable and friendly towards both residents and the environment alike. As many homeowners and proprietors have experienced, it saves time, effort and money to plan environmentally friendly features into a building’s initial design and construction. Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) realized this too. Overlooking the Ottawa River, the new development at 715 Mikinàk Road was designed as a homage to Indigenous Peoples and constructed using a zero-carbon plan that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and lowers operating costs for future tenants and landlord. The result? Three eco-friendly buildings with a combined 271 affordable housing units – including 57 fully accessible units – that embody environmental sustainability and promote a healthy lifestyle. To help get the development started, the City contributed $13.2 million in capital funding towards design and construction. Additional funding was also received from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Province of Ontario. With these contributions, many sustainable features were able to be included in the new housing development, including:

• High-performance building envelope that is well-insulated and airtight
• Triple pane fiberglass windows
• Geothermal field located under the parking lot to heat and cool the hallway and lounge spaces
• Energy Recovery Ventilators with heat pumps for climate control of the individual units
• Wastewater heat recovery system
• 300 kilowatts of solar panels covering the roofs that generate around 15 per cent of the community’s energy needs
• Two “Level 2” electric vehicle chargers in the parking lot
• Permeable paving and hardscape to reduce water runoff

Altogether, the sustainable features built into 715 Mikinàk decrease energy consumption and greenhouse gases by 45 per cent! Sustainable and resilient design in new developments is a crucial link in supporting public health, environmental protection and responding to climate change. Through its various features like electric vehicle parking and renewable energy sources, 715 Mikinàk is one of OCH's most sustainable developments to date. This project is a great of example of leading the way in smart and sustainable development that is affordable for residents. Your city, your ideas! The Mikinàk development is just one example of how the City is collaborating with its partners to find innovative ways to build a green and resilient city. By working with our partners to promote the construction of sustainable housing, we are finding different ways to mitigate climate change and protect our environment for Ottawa’s current and future residents. Do you have ideas related to sustainable housing or other City services that could contribute to a city that is green and resilient? Share your ideas at engage.ottawa.ca/GreenAndResilient.