Author/Contributor: Passive House Canada: SNAP Building, Sarina Homes, and Plaid Shirt Projects
Alberta Context: Steve Norris presented on making a case for Passive House rental investments at the “High-Performance Design Meets Boots on the Ground” event from November 2023. Steve specializes in single-family deep energy retrofits and project development for multi-family rentals in Calgary, Alberta.
Summary:
Steve Norris discusses making the business case for Passive House rental projects in Alberta. CMHC offers incentivized financing for projects that are affordable, accessible, or demonstrate up to a 40% reduction in emissions. This includes preferred lending with up to 95% loan-to-cost (loan-to-value) and up to 50 years of amortization, which supports the development of multi-family and sustainable housing. The financing applies only to purpose-built rentals and projects of five or more units, including secondary suites.
This shift in financing changes the decision-maker from developer to investor, attracting global interest in Alberta.
Passive House principles in the video quickly cover integrated project design and delivery, whole building design (solar exposure, airtightness, insulation), and high-energy efficiency.
Watch the full video to get the whole story.
