Canada’s largest mass timber housing project announced

Key Takeaways:

• Intelligent City and Sustainable Development Group are partnering to build 1,000 prefabricated mass timber homes in Barrie—the country’s largest such development by unit count.
• The project will use Intelligent City’s AI- and robot-driven manufacturing system to prefabricate components, reducing construction time and carbon emissions.
• The Barrie development marks a major step in scaling industrialized timber construction in Canada and showcases national leadership in sustainable, tech-driven housing solutions.

The Whole Story:

Intelligent City and Sustainable Development Group have announced a partnership to deliver 1,000 homes at 35 Sperling Drive using prefabricated mass timber systems, the largest mass timber housing development in Canada by unit count announced to date, the companies said Thursday.

The project will comprise four timber towers above a two-storey concrete base. Intelligent City will use the same prefabricated mass timber platform now under construction at 230 Royal York Road in Toronto, which will be Ontario’s tallest residential mass timber building when it is completed this fall, the company said in a news release.

The Barrie project represents a significant scale-up for industrialized timber construction in Canada’s residential sector. Intelligent City’s manufacturing process uses industrial robots and artificial intelligence to process and assemble building components on a production line, an approach designed to reduce construction time and lower carbon impacts.

“This partnership is a turning point for housing construction in Canada,” said Oliver David (OD) Krieg, president of Intelligent City. “By combining our construction technologies with SDG’s development vision, we can deliver homes faster and more sustainably – demonstrating what’s possible for cities across the country.”

Kartik Singla, partner at SDG, said the collaboration reflects a shared commitment to sustainable development. “Barrie will be home to a project that not only addresses the urgent need for housing but also showcases Canadian leadership in innovation,” he said.

The project accelerates Intelligent City’s expansion in Ontario and positions the company to scale its prefabricated timber platform across other Canadian markets. Mass timber construction uses engineered wood products such as cross-laminated timber and glulam beams as structural elements, offering lower embodied carbon than conventional concrete and steel systems.