The provincial government will provide $250,000 towards the Castlegar Chamber of Commerce’s new building as parts of its new mass timber action plan.
The building, to be known as The Confluence and to be located on the same property as the chamber’s existing building on 6th Avenue, will be home to a tourist info centre, technology incubator, chamber office, and public meeting facilities.
Site development is expected to begin around July, with construction to follow. Completion is expected in May 2023. It will be the only Passive-House-certified building in the BC interior, and possibly Western Canada.
The project has a price tag of about $5 million and will use mass timber from Kalesnikoff Lumber, a building method that combines high strength with low weight. Layers of small-dimension wood are fastened together with glue, dowels, or nails, matching or exceeding the structural performance of concrete and steel while reducing carbon emissions.
Forests Minister Katrine Conroy, who is the MLA for Kootenay West, called The Confluence’s design “incredible” and said “it’s going to be a beautiful sight.”
The announcement was made today at the University of Victoria, where mass timber is being used to build a new student housing and dining facility and other buildings.
“Mass timber is a triple-word score,” Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon said in a news release. “It allows us to reduce our carbon footprint from construction, it adds value to our forestry sector, and it provides new opportunities for jobs, growth and innovation in every corner of the province.”
Three other projects in Vancouver are also receiving funding.
