The social housing high-rise at 500 MacNab is now newer, greener and welcoming back tenants

The apartmenttower at 500 MacNabSt in north Hamiltonisn't the sort of building anyone thought would become a centrepiece of modern Canadianarchitecture. But with a ribbon cutting this past week,its proponents saythat's exactly what it is.

The 18-storey building known as the Ken Soble Tower is Hamilton's first with a "passive house" design, which means it has high-energy efficiency. Previously, the social and affordable housing high-rise had plain brick walls, scant insulation, and windows that leaked heat, saysGraemeStewart of ERA Architects, which led the re-design.

Now, withtenants movingin this week, it has "a big winter coat"10 inches thick, and it's so insulated that day-to-day living keeps it warm.

"When you're cooking, when you're having a shower, that heat stays in the building," Stewart said, after bureaucrats and politicians cut the ribbon Friday.

"This building was built in 1967, andit was a landmark building. It was a centennial project. It was a major investment in social housing. It was time to give it a second life," he said.

That second life, Stewart says, involves beingthe largest passive house projectoutside of Europe. Eventually, the model will be standard, but right now,"Hamilton really is the leader," he said.

CityHousing Hamilton (CHH), the city's largest social housing provider, owns 500 MacNab. The towerpreviously held 146 social rent-geared-to-income (RGI) units, and mostly bachelor apartments. Now it's a seniors' building with mix of studio and one-bedrooms, and only 114 units are RGI. The rest are market rent.

Tom Hunter, CHH president, says the remaining 32 RGI units will be reallocated to other CHH Hamilton buildings. Fifteen will beat First Place on King Street East, and the rest are undetermined.

The tower sat vacant for more than a year while CHH renovated. It spent about $34 millionusing money from the municipal, provincial andfederal governments, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.