Mass Timber in the Steel City: Assessing the Application of Multi-Family Mass Timber Housing in Hamilton

Multi-family mass timber housing presents an opportunity to address Canada’s housing and climate change crises. This innovative, sustainable building process presents financial, environmental, and health benefits through adoption into the urban realm. Despite this, building code limitations, technological concerns, and industry norms have limited its use in Ontario. This paper assesses the potential for mass timber use in projects across the housing spectrum in Hamilton, based on existing technology and current policy conditions. The research consisted of an extensive literature review, local policy scan, and case study analysis, specifically grounding application in Hamilton’s Centre District. It was found that using mass timber can directly support Hamilton’s housing and climate action solutions, but may require policy changes, knowledge-sharing partnerships, and bolstered funding opportunities to do so. Based on the findings, rationale and recommendations were provided for local planning staff and policymakers to address the challenges in developing multi-family mass timber housing in Hamilton Centre.