Alberta Awards of Excellence Finalists

Results from the judging of the 2009 Alberta Awards of Excellence in Housing presented by RBC Royal Bank are in and Christenson Developments is leading the competition with 4 finalists. Christenson is followed by tight competition from Ashton Custom Homes, Creations by Shane Homes and Streetside Development Corporation each with three finalists. The Calgary region leads the competition with 26 finalists, Edmonton region has 14 and Red Deer and Lethbridge each have 3. For a complete list of finalists, click here. Winners will be announced at BUILD 2009 in Jasper September 18.

Communication Reaches AB Government on New Fire Code Consequences

After meeting with several representatives of CHBA - Alberta and UDI - Alberta, Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister, Honourable Ray Danyluk, grants grandfathering of the former definition of response time on projects where the land development was in progress. Prior to the Minister’s decision, builders were unable to build on properties that had been approved prior to the new code implementation due to the new code requirements that would no longer allow window openings where side yard separation was at issue. For additional information pertaining to building advisories, click here.

STANDATA on Attached Garage Insulation Values

Alberta Municipal Affairs recently released a STANDATA which has been developed to clarify what minimum insulation values are to be supplied in unheated attached garages. Click here to download this STANDATA.

EQuilibrium Communities Initiative

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) have partnered in the EQuilibrium Communities Initiative which will support and promote leading edge sustainable neighbourhood development demonstration projects in Canada. They have requested qualified development teams with eligible development projects to provide submissions detailing how they would utilize the financial resources available from the Initiative to improve the energy and environmental performance of their projects, monitor performance and/or showcase the energy and environmental innovations. Deadline for submissions is September 22, 2009 and more information can be found by clicking here.

Kidde Smoke Detector Recall

Due to an electrostatic discharge that can damage the unit and cause it not to warn consumers of a fire, Kidde has recalled their dual sensor smoke alarms model PI2000. The alarms can be identified by two buttons, “HUSH” and “PUSH AND HOLD TO TEST WEEKLY,” which are located on the front/center of the alarm. The model number and date code are on the back of the smoke alarm. Only date codes 2008 Aug.01 through 2009 May 04 are included in this recall. Download more information on this recall by clicking here.

BUILD Announces Host

CHBA - Alberta is pleased to announce this year's Alberta Awards of Excellence in Housing host and President's Gala entertainment is stand up comic and improvisor, Roman Danylo. Roman’s one-man show combines his skills for a fast paced, hilarious evening. Don't be surprised if Roman invites delegates onto the stage to join in improvised scenarios. He mixes up the night with some stand-up and hilarious character monologues.

Roman is the star of Comedy Inc on CTV, and has received two Gemini nominations for his performances. Additionally he has hosted the hit CBC radio show The Debaters, was a regular on The Holmes Show, and is frequently on the Comedy Network.

Government of Canada Helps Improve Housing Affordability and Choice

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), today announced 17 new grants that will improve housing affordability for Canadians. The grants, totalling more than $84,000, are being awarded under CMHC’s Affordability and Choice Today (ACT) Initiative. For more information, click here.