Construction on the City of Peterborough’s affordable housing project at 681 Monaghan Road is well underway since the official groundbreaking event in October.
Precast structural loadbearing walls and precast floor slabs are being installed, which will be followed by prefabricated wall panels. According to a media release from the city, this is the first city construction project to use prefabricated construction techniques.
When completed, the six-storey building that will include 53 units, including 37 one-bedroom units, 11 two-bedroom units, and five three-bedroom units, along with amenity space and utilities on the ground floor.
“It’s exciting to see the progress of construction at 681 Monaghan Road,” said city councillor Keith Riel, chair of the city’s housing portfolio. “This important housing project is being funded as part of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Rapid Housing Program, so it was essential that the team assessed construction techniques for both cost efficiency and the ability to facilitate a shorter construction period.”
Expected to be completed in summer 2024, the 681 Monaghan Road project will provide housing for vulnerable populations in Peterborough, including Black Canadians, people with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and homeless people or those at risk of homelessness.
The building has been designed by Unity Design Studio, formerly Lett Architects, with Mortlock Construction the lead contractor.
“As the building takes form, we would like to express our gratitude for the dedication of the entire project team,” said Unity Design Studio senior project lead Roy Turner. “Their commitment ensures that upon completion, this building will offer affordable housing to many and positively impact our community.”
The 681 Monaghan Road project received $18.9 million in federal funding through the third round of the Rapid Housing Initiative, $40,000 in SEED funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), $854,810 through the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, and over $4 million from the City of Peterborough.
“As proud members of this community, we are so fortunate to be able to help address this crisis with this much needed project,” said Mortlock Construction president Craig Mortlock. “To date, we’ve spent many months working together with the City of Peterborough and the design team to design, coordinate, implement and construct this building.”
“We are now at a very exciting stage of the project. We, and any other passerby, get to witness the fruits of the team’s planning and coordination, as the precast concrete structural panels are being delivered and placed on site. It is so rewarding to see this building taking shape so quickly, growing daily, eventually allowing so many people to call this building home.”
