Will Six-Storey Wood Frames Affect Affordability in Ontario?
By Penny on Mar 21, 2014
With proposals for wooden framed buildings becoming more and more popular in architecturally forward places like Stockholm and British Columbia, it was just a matter of time before Ontario came to terms with the overall superior benefits of accepting wood as a safe, affordable building tool.
The Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA), the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) all showed their support for the government’s proposal that will allow for the construction of six-storey wood-frame buildings.
Current Ontario Building Codes restrict construction of wood frame structures to four storeys. The Associations’ have expressed the economic rationales for extending the codes to reflect those implemented by British Columbia, who have a six-storey wood standard. The Associations drew benefits from these policies that have proven to be crucially beneficial to over 100 building projects while improving the housing and rental markets in the province.
“Communities across Ontario, from London to North Bay, will all benefit from the housing, rental and office opportunities that this provincial proposal provides,” said Joe Vaccaro, CEO of OHBA, “and we look forward to seeing Ontario projects this year.”
The Associations’ submitted a report in May 2013 that outlined these benefits in a report called Unlocking the Potential for Mid-Rise Buildings: Six Storey Wood Structures, which was commissioned by BILD and authored by Paul Bedford, a former City of Toronto Chief Planner.
The report indicated that existing infrastructure and transit systems adequately meet the needs of communities and since these developed communities can support larger developments, it would be beneficial to construct mid-rise buildings to help meet the demands of growing populations. In addition, the fact that wood is a more affordable tool means that these projects will be more economical overall and will therefore offer a greater diversity of size and design features for people in wider ranges of age groups.
“The proposed change would result in the construction of safe, affordable mid-rise buildings that will bring new housing and rental options to our communities and vibrancy to our streets,” said BILD President and CEO Bryan Tuckey. “More importantly, we believe this proposal will help cities and towns achieve their goals of planning for the up to 100,000 people and 50,000 jobs that come to the GTA every year.”
