Nak'azdli Tiny Homes for Elders

Built from the Ground Up

Some projects start with a full set of drawings. This one started with a conversation.

When Nak'azdli Whut'en approached NCL to develop housing for elders on Mountainview Road in Fort St. James, there were no visual concepts, no floor plans and no existing design to build from. NCL engaged directly with the client to define the scope, establish a budget and develop a design that worked for the community.

The Project

The Nak'azdli Tiny Homes for Elders is a five-building residential development at 464-476 Mountainview Road in Fort St. James. The development includes four 685 square foot dwelling units and one common building for community gatherings, built across two adjoining lots.

NCL was the prime contractor and managed the project from initial client engagement through to completion. Working with Nak'azdli Whut'en's COO, Capital Manager and Housing Manager, NCL developed floor plans and conceptual visual aids to shape a design that met the community's needs and stayed within budget. Once the concept was confirmed, drawings were sent to a certified architect to produce construction drawings.

The project broke ground in the fall of 2022 and was completed in the fall of 2023, with a total project value of $1.2 million.

The Build

NCL self-performed the majority of the construction scope using their own crew. The Nak'azdli Operations and Maintenance team handled excavating and backfilling on site.

Each dwelling was built on a traditional four-foot frost wall foundation with a slab on grade.

The structures are wood frame with interior and exterior insulation, asphalt shingle roofing and Hardie Plank siding. NCL handled the full scope from foundation through to interior finishing across all five buildings.

Solving for Heating Costs

One of the key criteria from Nak'azdli Whut'en was keeping utility costs as low as possible for renters. With no natural gas available on the Mountainview Road site, electrical heating was the only option, which raised concerns about high winter utility bills.

NCL engaged Blue Green Solar from Prince George to develop a solution. Solar arrays were installed on the roofs of the dwelling units with battery backup, allowing each unit to generate and store its own power. Any surplus energy not used by the unit is sent back to the grid, qualifying the development for BC Hydro's Net Metering program. Under this program, credits accumulated during the higher-output summer months help offset the cost of electrical heating through the winter.

The result is a development where the rooftop infrastructure is doing real work for the people living there, reducing the ongoing cost of housing in a community where that matters.

What It Means

The Tiny Homes for Elders development gave Nak'azdli Whut'en four new rental dwellings and a shared gathering space built specifically for their elder community. But the process behind it is as notable as the result.

NCL came into this project without a design to build from and took on the full scope from concept through to construction. Engaging directly with Nak'azdli Whut'en leadership to define their needs, developing the floor plans, coordinating the architect and managing all trades on site. That kind of end-to-end involvement is what design-build project management looks like in practice, and it's a capability NCL brings to every project regardless of size or complexity.

The solar and net-metering system adds a layer of long-term value that goes beyond the build itself. Lower utility costs for renters means the housing stays affordable and accessible for the community members it was designed to serve.

The project was delivered on a $1.2 million contract, completed in the fall of 2023. Every project starts somewhere. Tell us what you need and we'll figure out the rest.

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