Gull River Housing

Project Details

Project Description

Minden is a community of 4000 people in the Kawartha Lakes region. In Minden and the surrounding area, the onset of COVID has changed the face of the real estate market - as families seek to avoid the city in search of space and clean air, the rate of gentrification of property within Haliburton County has increased dramatically. While this shift has its positive side effects for some, the people on the low end of the income scale are being further disadvantaged.

There isn’t enough affordable housing in Minden. Research indicates that there is a dearth of rental accommodation - only 12% of housing in Minden Hills is rental, much lower than the 30% found across Ontario.

Kawartha Lakes Haliburton Housing Corporation (KLH), a non-profit provider of safe and accessible affordable housing in the region, has waiting lists of almost 1,700 unique households, a 375% increase since 2013. The low-income demand (an average annual gross household income at or below $22,000), requires 121 units in the county annually to be developed. These targets are only achievable with funding and policy support from all levels of government as well as participation from private developers, the local housing corporation, non-profit housing providers, community agencies and residents.

These 35 rental units, plus shared utility space, are located on a wooded site with water access to the Gull River, providing an unprecedented amenity for low-income housing. The site is also sandwiched between two heavily used public facilities. To the immediate south and connected by a walking path is Rotary Park, a beautiful park located along the Gull River with beaches, a boat launch and small dock, playground, picnic shelters, and plenty of grassy areas for playing. On the adjacent parcel to the north is the Royal Canadian Legion - a local magnet for seniors and people of all ages with well organized activities, good food, and a welcome atmosphere.

KLH has designated these rental units for women and children, a group that will benefit from the location and environment. Understanding this, connecting each home to the landscape through large windows was of utmost importance.

Key objectives for this development were great design to support high-quality passive house living environments, providing grade-related housing with a front door and direct access to riverside and park-side amenities, and supporting the local economy by procuring locally.

Consisting of nine fourplex buildings, the houses feature sets of reciprocating sloped roof profiles that define the array of units on the site while providing sheltered front entrances and rear patio spaces focused upon the river beyond. Each ground floor unit is designed to be accessible, and all the houses are engineered to receive PHIUS+ certification.

Clad in cedar and metal roofing, colour is used at grade to articulate and differentiate the units. An array of tones drawn from the spring and fall colours that line the river ensure that each family has a unique entrance. The sloping roofs also help to distinguish the units and blur the ‘sameness’ that can be associated with affordable housing.

Half the units will be fully accessible, with all rooms on the ground floor and the entries at grade. Within each unit, the main living spaces, bathroom, and one of the two bedrooms will be fully accessible with no thresholds, generous turning radii, and grab bars.

The sustainability mission for Gull River Housing is to create comfortable healthy living spaces, lifestyle and affordability through great design, energy savings, and durability.

Each unit is designed to passive house standards, targeting PHIUS+ 2018 Certification. Our goal is to use the Gull River Housing project as a precedent for building low-rise sustainable rental housing in rural Ontario.