Rapid Housing

Saskatchewan has outpaced the national average for construction progress under the Rapid Housing Initiative with 100% of units approved under the first two RHI rounds completed by this fall. The key is collaborative partnerships and advanced construction methods. This article examines what development productivity looks like in practice, and how it relates to the CMHC’s new Housing Accelerator Fund.

The Home Fire Complex, the City of Regina’s Rapid Housing Initiative project being led by Silver Sage Housing, is one step closer to seeing residents move into their new home later this summer. This week, Big Block Construction, the development partner on the project, completed the modular craning process at the construction site at the corner of Broad Street and 5th Avenue North.

As a development partner, Big Block brings two primary methods of construction to the forefront of a project: stick-built and modular construction. Stick-built refers to the traditional method of building a home on-site, while modular construction involves constructing a home in a factory setting and then transporting it to the building site. When we’re helping our partners navigate the development journey, we also need to help them evaluate which method is right for the project. 

It’s exciting to see a building rise up from the ground and tenants move in, but a successful project begins with good planning in the pre-development stage. At this stage, project teams are securing land and funding, and developing preliminary design concepts. A high level of pre-development helps keep costs stable and allows the project to progress at top speed once it gets going.

Architect David Fortin says translating Indigenous thinking and knowledge into contemporary architectural form is still a relatively new conversation, so when designing for an Indigenous client, he and his team put a lot of emphasis on engagement. The latest project that David is working on with Big Block is the Silver Sage Housing Corporation’s Home Fire building in North Regina. Home Fire will be a transitional place for people in need of immediate housing, and it’s part of the federal government’s Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) in order to get those people the housing they need as quickly as possible.

Canada is facing a housing crisis and one of the ways the Government of Canada is tackling the problem is through the CMHC Rapid Housing Initiative. In November 2022, the third round of funding was released and the government is looking for new applications to build new housing and/or purchase existing buildings that will be rehabilitated or converted into permanent affordable housing.