Housing N.W.T. has completed a hybrid housing project, which has added two duplexes set aside for social housing in Délı̨nę, N.W.T.

There are four units across the two modular duplexes, and there are tenants already living in three of those units according Daniel Korver, Housing N.W.T.’s director of infrastructure services.

The hybrid model sees parts of the homes built in different parts of the territory. Korver believes modular housing has become a “growing portion of new construction in the N.W.T.”

When it came to choosing the location for the project, Korver said Délı̨nę was an “ideal community” as it is fairly remote, accessible by the winter road, and the community’s small population would be a good test for the community’s ability to recruiting workers locally.

Korver says the inner cores of each home, which feature a kitchen, bathroom, mechanical room and water tank, were built in Hay River and trucked to Délı̨nę on a winter road. Local workers built the outer shell of the one-bedroom homes on site.

Korver explained that transporting the inner core is a lot easier than moving an entire module to remote communities in the territory.  

And while the idea isn’t entirely new in Canada either, Korver said the pilot project has components that are “fairly unique” to the North, like including water tanks in the design.

The pilot project is a collaboration between Housing N.W.T., ARCAN Construction Ltd., and METCAN Building Solution.

Boosting local employment

Niki Elliott, the general manager of METCAN, said the pilot also aims to building community engagement. She said the construction provided opportunities for on-the-job-training for local workers, and it was beneficial to have part of the construction done within the community.

“It allows us to spend a little bit more time in the community and just to provide a little bit more opportunity around exposure to construction,” she said. 

The exact number of local workers would fluctuate, she said, but at one point four individuals were working on the project as well as local accommodators and contractors.  

“It was unique and it was exciting. I always loved to see relationships and construction think outside of the box to meet a variety of different needs of the communities that we work in,” Elliott said. 

While there currently aren’t any concrete plans to build more of these hybrid homes, Korver said they are looking for the next opportunity. 

“We’ve got 33 communities right across the territory. So this is another tool or another way of delivering housing,” he said. “My hope would be to see more homes completed in this way.”