The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, in partnership with the Municipality of North Grenville, are proud to announce an event that promotes the development of affordable housing using the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Housing Design Catalogue’s ready-made, publicly available designs.
The upcoming event is taking place on Friday, March 27, 2026, from 8am to noon at the Urbandale Arts Centre, which is located at the North Grenville Municipal Centre, at 285 County Road #44, Kemptville, ON, K0G 1J0. There is no cost to attend, but preregistration is required.
Join experts from government and members of the traditional and modern methods of construction industry, to hear how fast and affordably housing can be built using the CMHC Housing Design Catalogue.
The CMHC Housing Design Catalogue was created by the government of Canada to be an innovative resource to help communities build more homes, faster. The designs, which are available on CMHC’s website and are free for anyone to use, account for regional climate, building code requirements and construction methods. There are seven different models of technical packages available for building homes in Ontario, which include accessory dwelling units, fourplexes, a sixplex, and two different designs of stacked townhomes. Design packages include accessible-ready designs that can easily be converted to accessible units, as well as enhanced accessible layouts. The designs are considered “near permit ready”, which require review by a qualified professional to fit the site and meet local rules.
Speakers at the event will include representatives from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), local home builders including CABN, Wellings Modular, Lockwood Brothers Construction, Cahdco, IN Engineering, as well as County and Municipality of North Grengville staff that are dedicated to the development of affordable housing. St. Lawence College will be in attendance with interactive displays, including their mobile training lab, that promotes hands-on learning and working in the carpentry, welding, and electrical trades.
Presentations will provide an overview on the use of the design catalogue, key benefits of municipal partnerships on the usage of pre-approved designs, the cost and time savings, local implementation of the designs, and an opportunity to view some of the designs from local homebuilders.
To register, visit the Leeds and Grenville website at www.leedsgrenville.com.
Quotes
“Supporting the development of affordable housing remains a top priority across the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. Events like this are so important because they spark innovation and raise awareness about the many tools and resources available to the public, to builders, and to all levels of government. The CMHC Housing Design Catalogue is a strong example of how government and the private sector can work together to accelerate housing development and better meet the needs of our communities.” - Warden Corinna Smith-Gatcke, Warden, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville.
“We are pleased to support this event which highlights how the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) program has enabled our community to develop an additional residential units (or ARUs) program using pre-approved designs. These designs will enable more innovative and inclusive small homes to be built within North Grenville to respond to the needs of seniors and young people starting out. CMHC's Housing Design Catalogue brings this work together with other similar projects across the country into one easy-to-use, publicly available document that is tailored to each province. In so doing, it will reduce time and cost barriers to development just as our own homegrown ARU Initiative has done.” – Nancy Peckford, Mayor, Municipality of North Grenville.
For further information contact the Counties Affordable Housing Coordinator, Caroline Rigutto at (613) 342-3840 ext. 2327 or
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Media inquiries:
John Kalivas, Communications Coordinator
United Counties of Leeds and Grenville
25 Central Avenue W., Suite 100, Brockville, ON, K6V 4N6
613-342-3840 ext. 2454 or
