Piece by piece, cranes lift 84 prefabricated rentals into place in downtown Calgary

Along a busy street on the west end of downtown, another new rental building is going up — but instead of being built from scratch, prefabricated units are being craned into place, piece by piece.

Each box being stacked contains two studio apartments, already filled with appliances like fridges, stoves, washers and dryers.

Altogether, the pieces will make up 84 studio apartments across six storeys.

"We can crane in all the modules into place in 10 days, which is a very fast pace in a highly densified area," said Adam Beattie, president of ATCO Structures.

The modular units were manufactured at ATCO Structures' factory in southwest Calgary. They took roughly three months to complete.

Jaydan Tait, CEO of Attainable Homes Calgary — the city-owned agency behind the project — says the speed of modular construction is a major advantage as Calgary tackles an ongoing housing crisis.

"From the starting point of manufacture to a fully-stacked building will be from April 15 to the middle of August, so just a few months, unlike a typical construction build which can be on average about two years," said Tait.

Compared to traditional builds, this approach requires less labour, says Tait, and the construction costs are lower since it takes less time to complete. He says that's reflected in the price charged to tenants.

"We're going to be able to rent every single studio unit, 84 studios in there, for under $1,100 a month," he said.

"So if you make about $44,000 to $50,000, you're the kind of client we want to live in this building and that's calculated on you not spending more than 30 per cent of your income on rent."

Once all the elements — including stairwells and elevators — are in place, ATCO will work on adding external cladding and other finishing touches. The building is expected to be complete in December and will be ready for its first tenants on Jan. 1.

Despite the haste of modular construction, Beattie said quality isn't an issue.

"The modular structure actually has more structural components than a traditional build because not only do you have the structural requirements of the overall envelope of the building, but each module has intensified structural elements so it can be transported to site in a safe and effective manner," said Beattie.

"It's got a huge amount of durability and longevity that can endure as much, if not more, than a traditional build and the quality of finish."

Both Beattie and Tait say they're expecting the residential modular approach to become even more common as Canada tackles an ongoing housing shortage, especially with the federal government backing the technique as part of its housing plan.

In the meantime, Attainable Homes Calgary is developing another modular project — this time, in Sunnyside — with manufacturing slated to begin in the fall.