All-CLT passive house, affordable housing in Connecticut – Sitting on a tight infill site at the corner of v-shaped intersecting streets Dixwell Avenue and Orchard Street in New Haven, CT is a new all-CLT mass timber, affordable housing, passive house development. The project, which will include 2 buildings, 4 stories and 69 units in total, will provide much needed housing for New Haven, the majority of which will be for those at 60% AMI or lower. Jeff Spiritos of Spiritos Properties led a tour of the facility yesterday, along with Paul Selnau, AIA, CPHC of Schadler Selnau, Momo Sun, P.E., P.Eng. of WoodWorks and Sabrina Sauter of binderholz group.

Some of the details which stood out to me:

–        Thin 5-ply CLT panels where used for the floor to achieve the 12.5 ft spans and achieve a 1-hour rating in this Type VA structure

–        All interior walls, exterior walls, shaft walls, floors and roofs will be CLT. Within each dwelling unit, one unit demising wall, the inside face of the exterior wall, and part of the ceiling will be exposed to view. The opposite demising wall will be furred out for electrical, and the portion of the timber ceiling nearest the corridor will have a dropped soffit to cover plumbing and air distribution over kitchens and bathrooms.

–        Roof top central ERV and VRF, with vertical shafts and ducts supplying to each unit for heating/cooling, and a gas central hot water system.

–        1,500 holes in the CLT panels were coordinated and prefabricated in the CLT manufacturing facility, essentially eliminating the need for on-site drilling by the trades.

–        That monumental mass timber stair at the main lobby entrance was looking 

Congratulations to the entire team involved, on a great looking project which is providing a tremendous asset to the New Haven Community. Odeh Engineers, Beulah Land Development Corp, Help Development Corp

Bonus tip: want to see a cost breakdown of the project? Check out Jeff’s paper.

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