CityHousing Hamilton

1620 Main Street East

Opportunity

The Rapid Housing Initiative funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation enabled CityHousing Hamilton to expand its mission of creating safe, cost-effective, and inclusive affordable housing. Located adjacent to the Queenston Traffic Circle, 1620 Main Street East represents the second phase of the Motor City Hotel site redevelopment, delivering much-needed affordable homes while integrating cutting-edge sustainability and energy efficiency strategies.

Response

Designed as a six-story mass timber building, 1620 Main St. E. demonstrates the potential of prefabricated construction for rapid, high-performance housing delivery. By leveraging Passive House principles, the design optimizes energy efficiency, airtightness, and occupant comfort while ensuring long-term affordability through reduced operational costs. Achieving a final airtightness result of 0.12 ACH @50Pa—five times tighter than the Passive House standard—the project sets a new benchmark for sustainable, affordable housing in Canada. This landmark project is one of the first mass timber, Passive House multi-residential buildings in North America, redefining expectations for the future of accessible, low-carbon living.

Sustainability

1620 Main St. E. redefines sustainable affordable housing through mass timber construction, Passive House design, and high-efficiency systems. Its Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) structure significantly reduces embodied carbon, while prefabrication minimizes waste and accelerates construction.

The project’s high-performance envelope includes triple-pane, Passive House-certified windows and an exceptional final airtightness rating of 0.12 ACH @50Pa—substantially exceeding Passive House requirements and drastically lowering heating and cooling demand. Heat recovery ventilation (HRV) and air-source heat pumps further enhance energy efficiency, while rooftop solar panels offset lighting energy use.

Water conservation is embedded through low-flow fixtures and drought-tolerant native landscaping, reducing municipal water reliance and supporting long-term environmental resilience.