Partner highlight: Improving tenant experience and extending a building’s life – the deep energy retrofit at L.J. Christmas Apartments
This building, which provides 134 affordable rental homes for seniors, is undergoing a deep energy retrofit while keeping tenants in place.
On June 17, 2026, the Zero Emissions Building Exchange and the Housing That Connects Us project, a collaboration between Hey Neighbour Collective, Happy Cities and Renewable Cities, co-hosted a tour of L.J. Christmas Apartments (LJC) for 27 professionals working in planning, climate, housing and retrofit sectors.
Redevelop or retrofit?
LJC staff and board faced a tough decision: redevelop the site or retrofit the aging 1960s building to preserve its affordable rental homes. Initially, LJC hoped to sell its land, located in a transit-oriented development zone near a SkyTrain station, and rebuild in a quieter, flatter area. After extensive consultation and support from experts, they determined that their original plan was not feasible. Instead, they chose to not only retrofit the building, but also upgrade it and add new affordable units.
One of the project’s defining strengths has been the collaboration and shared vision across the teams involved, including the housing provider, board, construction teams, and consultants.
Visit Renewable Cities to learn more about how the retrofits are being implemented and the key takeaways from this project.
Fireside chat with HNC’s Michelle Hoar
During the tour, Kathy Knight, Executive Director of LJC, sat down with Michelle Hoar, Director of Hey Neighbour Collective, to discuss how LJC is implementing the retrofit while centring tenant experience and preserving affordable seniors housing.
