New multiple-dwelling project: the Dorimène housing cooperative in Québec City

The Fiducie foncière communautaire de Québec (Québec City Community Land Trust, or FFCQ), in partnership with the City of Québec, is submitting a feasibility study for a new 16-unit affordable housing project. The goal of the study is to determine the technical risks and demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of various potential measures to achieve the net-zero energy (NZE) objective.

This study aims to achieve this energy objective by combining more traditional measures, such as the increased use of thermal insulation, the improvement of building tightness, rigorous motoring of thermal bridge assemblies and proper ventilation management, with other more innovative measures. These more ambitious technologies include the use of photovoltaic solar panels combined with geothermics, as well as a phytoremediation system for the management of air quality.

With partnerships that include citizen committees, provincial elected officials and major national actors, the FFCQ demonstrates a significant and diversified engagement that ensures the support that such a project requires. In addition, the project team includes architects, mechanical engineering specialists and building structure experts. The team has experience in managing complex projects and has the ability to attract high-quality partners. This means the team has the appropriate capacity and expertise to complete the project.

Finally, funding for this study through the Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH) initiative will increase the legitimacy of this ambitious environmental project, and will enable the applicant to access additional funding from the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) and from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) for the resulting capital project.

Innovative aspects

• The Maison Passive House organization guarantees that the capital project that will result from this study would be one of the first multiplex projects to receive the “Passivhaus” certification in Quebec.
• The capital project resulting from this study would be one of the first affordable housing projects to bring together ambitious environmental measures (e.g., geothermics, passive construction with aquaculture, use of phytoremediation to improve air quality).

Replicability

• The Office municipal d’habitation du Québec (Quebec Municipal Housing Office), two technical resources groups, the Fédération régionale des OBNL d’habitation de Québec (Regional Federation of Housing NPOs of Québec City) and the Chaire de recherche en aménagement (Land Use Planning Research Chair) at Laval University have expressed an interest in having the project’s tools and results shared with them to replicate the project.
• The replication mechanisms are also demonstrated by the partnerships with local actors, citizen committees, building professionals, local and provincial elected officials, as well as regional and national actors such as the CMHC and the Caisse d’économie solidaire Desjardins (Desjardins Solidarity Economy Credit Union).

Affordability

• Eight of this project’s sixteen units are dedicated to vulnerable households and have a rent that is 59% lower than the median rent in the lower town area of Québec City. This rent decrease is entirely covered by non-vulnerable households.
• Achieving the net-zero energy objective could lead to savings of $14,637 as soon as the first year of operation. This translates into savings of $160 for a non-vulnerable household, which would have a real impact on the quality of life of those households and, therefore, on the project’s feasibility.