FAST FACTS
500 MacNab, Hamilton
Housing Type: Senior’s social housing
Context?:
post-war tower EnerPHit retrofit

The Ken Soble Tower is an 18 storey seniors’ affordable rental housing building. The postwar tower was built in 1967, in Hamilton’s West Harbour waterfront area at 500 MacNab Street North.

CityHousing Hamilton undertook to retrofit the tower for 146 bachelor and one-bedroom units, some of them accessible. Due to water leaks, extremes of heat and cold, and pest infestation, the tower was renovated throughout, replacing walls and finishes, building envelope, elevators, plumbing, and HVAC.

The design and engineering team were able to meet the high energy standards of Passive House Canada’s “EnerPHit  program, created especially for existing buildings with poor heat and cold control. At 80,000sf, with massive improvements in expected energy performance, and resident comfort and accessibility in suites, have won the project the prestige of being the first certified EnerPHit residential tower retrofit of its size, in the world.

METHODS USED

FINDINGS

Coming Soon

RELATED LINKS

Tower Renewal Partnership
Ken Soble Tower Renewal Case Study (Report)
ERA Architect’s Overview
CMHC Report
Canadian Architect Article: Raising the Bar