Finishing touches being put on affordable housing modular project

A six-storey affordable housing unit in downtown Calgary is almost ready for people to move in.

A six-storey apartment building is being craned into place in downtown, as the ‘Attainable Homes’ project enters the final stretch.

Construction began in mid-April at the ATCO Calgary facility.

Eighty-four pre-fabricated modular homes are part of the development, which is expected to be completed in a couple of weeks. Residents will start moving in Jan. 1.

Crews are lifting 56 boxes into place.

Each contain two units, and then there are smaller boxes for stairwells and elevator shafts.

“Appliances, wall finishes, windows, mechanical electric systems -- everything’s complete, basically,” said Adaam Beattie, ATCO structures president.

“To about everything, except for the external cladding of the building -- it’s all done and basically ready to move in, with minor finishing between now and modules in place to put in the external skin.”

This is one of seven non-profit affordable housing projects the City of Calgary has announced to combat the housing crisis.