GEF Seniors Housing NZER Feasibility Study: Lauderdale Terrace

GEF Seniors Housing (GEF), a municipal corporation under the City of Edmonton, was founded in 1959. It manages a portfolio, on behalf of the province, of over 3,800 individual affordable units. This project will replace six 65-year-old housing units with 37 new independent-living units that are seniors-friendly, pet-friendly and environment-friendly. The new development will feature a three-storey apartment complex centred between two stretches of bungalow-style row housing. In this initiative, GEF will explore several net zero options to determine which is the most appropriate for the project. These options include passive solar design, solar PV, air-to-heat pumps, enhanced building envelope, and wastewater heat recovery. GEF has previous experience with high-performance building energy systems, with its last three projects using highly insulated building envelopes. Two of those projects included solar domestic hot water systems, and one used a combined heat power unit. This previous experience will guide GEF in achieving SAH’s ambitious energy goals. Innovative aspect(s): GEF uses an Integrated Project Delivery Team (IPD) to leverage third party expertise while retaining all controls through pre-project development to project delivery. Past GEF projects that used the IPD model were completed both ahead of schedule and under budget. This project management design is unique among SAH applicants and could offer a model to those in early stages of project design. Replicability: GEF identifies a continued need for affordable housing in Edmonton. Based on the success of this project and its model, there is great capacity for further highly-energy-efficient housing developments in GEF’s portfolio. The IPD model also builds capacity across industries for similar projects in the region. Affordability: · 50% of units are priced at 20% below MMR · Remaining 50% are priced at MMR (Project description from original funding application)