Railtown: Workforce Housing for a Growing Community

Nelson, BC is a vibrant mountain town known for its creativity, strong sense of community, and natural beauty—but like many towns across the province, it faces a serious housing shortage. To help address this challenge, the Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce, with support from BC Builds, is planning a 55-unit workforce housing project in the Railtown district. Set to break ground in autumn 2025, the development will offer studio, one-, and two-bedroom market rental units leased by local employers for their staff. Aimed at supporting the recruitment and retention of essential workers—such as teachers, nurses, and tradespeople—the project represents a flexible, community-focused response to one of the region’s most pressing economic challenges.

Strategically located on the edge of Nelson’s historic downtown, the project will transform a long-underutilised brownfield site into a vibrant new addition to the city’s evolving core. It plays a catalytic role in Railtown’s ongoing revitalization—bringing new energy, density, and activity to a transitional district that connects the city’s heritage core with its emerging edge.

This six-storey, mixed-use building combines the durability of traditional site-built construction with the precision and efficiency of modular building techniques. The ground floor is a cast-in-place concrete ‘podium’, housing commercial-retail space, a residential lobby, and utility areas. Designed with full-height glazing and a sculpted canopy, this base engages the street and offers flexible, high-visibility commercial opportunities.

Above, five storeys of modular residential units—55 in total—will be fabricated off-site in a factory-controlled environment and delivered nearly complete. Once transported to site, these "mods" will be craned into place and require only minimal on-site finishing. This hybrid construction model improves build quality, shortens the construction schedule, and minimizes disruption to the surrounding neighbourhood.

The residential mix includes studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units, laid out across a highly rational 12′-3″ planning grid and organized using a family of twelve repeatable modules. The façade expresses this modular logic through a rhythmic window pattern and deep shadow boxes, softened by warm cladding materials that respond to the region’s natural context.