Affordable Housing Events

The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville Affordable Housing Workshop Series

Upcoming Events

Building Faster and Affordably using the CMHC Housing Design Catalogue Event on Friday, March 27, 2026, at the North Grenville Municipal Centre from 8:00 a.m. until noon. Event registration is found at this link.

The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, in partnership with the Municipality of North Grenville, have announced an event that promotes the development of affordable housing using the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Housing Design Catalogue’s ready-made, publicly available designs.

Join experts from government and members of the traditional and modern methods of construction industries to hear how fast and affordably housing can be built using the CMHC Housing Design Catalogue.

Presentations will provide an overview on the use of the design catalogue, key benefits of municipal partnerships on the usage of pre-approved designs, the cost and time savings, local implementation of the designs, and an opportunity to view some of the designs from local homebuilders.

Speakers at the event will include:

Daniel Rubinstein, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation – CMHC Housing Design Catalogue Overview
Adrian Schut, Cahdco – Affordable Housing Development using the CMHC Design Catalogue
Al Armstrong, Wellings Modular - Using Modern Methods of Construction to build Design Catalogue homes faster and affordably
Jackson Wyatt, CABN – Using mass timber in Modern Methods of Construction to Build Housing Catalogue Designs Sustainably and Economically
Andrew Melchers, IN Engineering – Site analysis, zoning, design and servicing as it relates to the pre-designed plans
Jackie Schoemaker Holmes and Phil Mosher - The Municipality of North Grenville's Housing Accelerator Fund Additional Residential Unit (ARU) initiative
Daniel Liao, Dean of Trades and Technology, St. Lawrence College - leveraging apprentice programs to lower training costs

The St. Lawrence College Construction Trades Innovation Lab will also be on site to provide a fun and interactive experience.

Presentation materials and the event agenda will be posted to this website closer to the date of the event.

The upcoming event is taking place in person on Friday, March 27, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to noon at the Urbandale Arts Centre, which is located at the North Grenville Municipal Centre, 285 County Road #44, Kemptville, ON, K0G 1J0.

There is no cost to attend, but pre-registration is required.

Septic Systems Learning Event for Multi-Residential Housing Development

A learning event has been arranged to promote and grow housing development in rural areas in Leeds and Grenville. Visit the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority septic system demonstration unit to learn more about systems intended for less than 10,000 cubic meters per day. There are ten different systems on location that the Chief Building Official at the conservation authority will provide an overview for. This learning event is intended for developers constructing residential developments, and municipal staff and officials. The length of the tour is approximately one hour; there is no cost to attend, however space is limited so pre-registration is required.

Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 1:00 p.m.
Location: Baxter Conservation Area, 7498 Carter Road, Kars, Ontario

To register, please contact Tammy Herbison, Administrative Assistant for the Housing Department of The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville at Tammy.Herbison@uclg.on.ca.

For questions, please contact Caroline Rigutto, Affordable Housing Coordinator, at Caroline.Rigutto@uclg.on.ca, or 613-342-3840, ext. 2327.

Workshop Proposals Accepted

The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Community Housing Department, is inviting local innovators, builders, and land developers to partner on topic-specific workshops that offer solutions to create more Affordable Housing units faster in Leeds and Grenville. The intended audience for the workshop series is builders, trades, land developers, non-profit housing corporations, non-profit organizations, faith-based organizations, municipal staff, and elected officials.

Share your expertise for a skill or solution you have for increasing affordable housing units related to:

Rural Housing Solutions, such as water and sewer services solutions for expediting new affordable development, or turning empty bedrooms into extra income.

Project Financing Solutions for Affordable Housing Construction.
Alternative building solutions like modular construction, 3D printing, mass timber construction, energy efficient building, or other innovative affordable housing building models.
Missing Middle Housing promoting in-fill development, such as constructing duplexes, triplexes, townhouses and multi-unit buildings.
Converting commercial spaces into affordable housing units.

Other affordable housing solutions.

Use this opportunity to promote your affordable housing concept to benefit communities in Leeds and Grenville. Workshop proposals must clearly outline how they will share information on how to build homes faster and/or more affordably in our community. Include your experience of affordable housing projects constructed/created, provide the length of time to present the workshop (approximately), availability of presenter to attend a location in-person in Leeds and Grenville, the workshop audience it is geared for (e.g. people with or without building experience), and other relevant information to support your workshop proposal.

To discuss your proposal, or for questions, contact Caroline Rigutto, Affordable Housing Coordinator at Caroline.Rigutto@uclg.on.ca or 613-342-3840, ext. 2327. Not all workshop proposals can be accommodated, and where multiple proposals of a similar topic are received, The Counties will assess the workshop proposal and select the proposal that provides the greatest value for attendees. Proposals for sales pitches, investment opportunities and untested affordable housing concepts will not be accepted. Presenters who submit workshop proposals will be doing so at their own expense.

Other Events in the Community

Affordable Housing Workshop

St. Luke’s Leeds Anglican Church

Saturday, October 26, 2024

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (noon)

Elgin Community Room, 47 Main Street, Elgin

The Workshop will include presentations by:

- Natalie Appleyard, Socio-Economic Policy Analyst, Citizens for Public Justice

- Colette Kenny, Social Justice Activist and Tiny Home Advocate

- Caroline Rigutto, Affordable Housing Coordinator, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville

Following the workshop, everyone is invited to stay for our monthly Community Lunch.

Information: 613-507-3311

Past Events and Videos

Past events will be posted here once available.